When a man lives a life like John C. Stennis, one of knowledge, politics and power, his story deserves to be told. Tonight, David Dallas, a Mississippi State alumnus, will tell Stennis’ story in the form of a one-man show in McComas Hall at 7:30.
Born in DeKalb, Stennis attended Mississippi State University and later served Mississippi for 41 years in the U.S. Senate. After retiring, Stennis hired two caretakers to help him as he aged. One of those caretakers was David Dallas.
Dallas spent a few years of his life living and learning with Stennis while he worked on his master’s degree at MSU.
From his time with Stennis, Dallas created “A Gentleman from Mississippi,” a play he wrote and performs about the life and lessons of Stennis.
“This is Dallas’ recollection of American history and the local color of Mississippi. I found it very moving and lots of fun, appealing and interesting,” Jack White, MSU honors program director, said. “We are expecting a great crowd.”
Dallas began performing the show two years ago after having many other jobs, such as senior program officer for the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and director of International Programs at Drexel University, but Dallas then realized that he wanted to be an actor.
Now, as a full-time actor, he performs the show regularly. Reviewers in New York and Pennsylvania gave “A Gentleman from Mississippi” high praise. The show lasts approximately an hour and a half, with no intermission.
The show features Dallas “as three characters: himself, an aging Stennis and Stennis at the height of his political power, when he chaired the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees and exercised vast influence over the nation’s military,” said a press release.
Dallas has already performed the show on the MSU campus, and the response to the first show has brought him back for another.
“He has strong ties with the university,” Neely Wilbourn, a graduate assistant with the Lyceum Series, said. “We wanted to bring it back to the university campus because it is very important to the students’ heritage.”
The show is co-sponsored by the MSU Lyceum Series and the University Honors Program. Tickets can be purchased at the door the night of the show for $6 for adults, $4 for senior citizens, $2 for children (3-12) and free for MSU students with student identification.
While Dallas is on campus, he will also lecture in Honors Forum for the University Honors Program and participate in “Conversations with David Dallas.”
When Dallas spoke in Honors Forum last year, the students rated him the highest forum speaker out of the 14.
“The students really enjoyed him,” White said.
The Honors Forum lecture will be today at 12:30 p.m. in Allen Hall, Room 13.
The MSU Libraries are sponsoring “Conversations with David Dallas,” a time for Dallas to share about his own experiences and tell about the mementos held in the library’s Stennis Collection. This is also today from 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the John Grisham Room in the Mitchell Memorial Library.<</p>