Event hits stage with comedic burst

Moms Mabley was a comedic pioneer. As one of the first famous, black female comedians, she used humor to address controversial and taboo topics, such as racism. And she earned good money performing to white audiences for thousands of dollars during her career peak in the 1950s and ‘60s.

Mabley returned to the stage Monday morning to kick off North Idaho College’s annual Popcorn Forum. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, a professional actor and instructor in the theater department at Virginia Commonwealth University, portrayed Mabley, who died in 1975.

For about 30 minutes, Pettiford-Wates was Moms. Loud, crass and, most of all, funny.

“Eye-da-ho. But I don’t know; I’ve never been to Idaho before … I need to take three planes, two cars and a donkey to get out here,” she said.

A stewardess on the plane gave her gum to calm her nerves. “She says, ‘Moms, Moms – drop yo’ jaw,’ ” Pettiford-Wates said. “Well, I misunderstood.” The crowd in NIC’s Schuler Auditorium erupted in laughter.

“It’s innuendo instead of saying it right out,” she said after the performance.

Pettiford-Wates’ performance was the first of seven re-enactments scheduled this week as part of NIC’s 37th annual Popcorn Forum. Started by political science instructor Tony Stewart, the weeklong symposium takes on a different topic each year. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Humor and Music: Conversations with Comedians and Musicians From the Past.”

Professors and actors from around the country will portray figures such as Lucille Ball, Will Rogers and John Lennon.

Monday was the first time Pettiford-Wates had portrayed Mabley publicly.

“She blazed trails that people didn’t even realize she blazed,” she said after the performance. “Only in the last few years of her life did she start to get the accolades that she deserved.”

Pettiford-Wates recalled being pulled over after running a red light. The officer said to her, “You wanna ‘splain to me why you ran that red light?”

“Yes sir,” Pettiford-Wates said in her Mabley voice. “I was watching all you white folks go through the green light and I figured that red one must be for us.”