The St. John Drama Club presented the 10th performance of its annual Emancipation Day play Friday in Cruz Bay as part of the island’s annual Emancipation Day celebration.
This year, the club’s script writers added new elements to a narrative built over the years about events leading up to the July 3, 1848, Emancipation Proclamation by then-Danish Gov. Peter Von Scholten. The 2026 play featured expanded musical performances backed by locally known singer and master guitarist Haile Israel.
“The change in this year’s play is that we’re inclusive – St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix,” said club member and co-playwright Myrna George.
A bamboula troupe led the procession of actors from the gates of the Battery into the performance space around 2 p.m. Residents and visitors packed the seats; they were joined by elected leaders, culture bearers and Tourism Commissioner Jennifer Matarangas-King, who said, for her, it was a first-time viewing experience.
Educator, author and historian Gilbert Sprauve sat in attendance steps away from his childhood home in Cruz Bay. In the early days of the drama club, Sprauve helped with script production. Students from the St. John School of the Arts sang “Stand by Me,” a rhythm-and-blues tune made famous by Ben E. King in 1961. The V.I. For Life quadrille dancers and the drumming group Echo People helped make the Friday afternoon Emancipation Day celebration memorable for the audience.
Division of Festivals Director Ian Turnbull made presentations to supermarket managers at Starfish Market and Lt. Gov Tregenza Roach for their support of St. John’s Emancipation Day commemoration.
As he has in speeches delivered at the annual Celebration Food Fair and at the opening of Celebration Village, Roach pointed to the events of July 3, 1848 — V.I. Emancipation — and July 4, 1776 — U.S. Independence Day — as vital elements of the St. John fete.
