Willis Richardson Players

Honoring Lela & Melvin Thompson

“Their passion for Black theatre transformed Wilmington’s cultural landscape and continues to inspire every performance we bring to the stage.”

— The Willis Richardson Players

When she was a student at the all-black Williston High School in Wilmington, Lela Thompson, then Lela Pierce, caught the theater bug. The first play she performed in was a mystery called “The Face on the Stairs.” After graduating high school in the 1950s, Thompson’s participation in theater went dormant. However, in 1974 she read a story in the Wilmington Journal about the formation of a Black theater group called the Willis Richardson Players, named after a native Wilmingtonian whose drama “The Chip Woman’s Fortune” (1923) was the first play by a Black writer to appear on Broadway.

Thompson auditioned for the group—founded by Peter Smith, Gloria Ramos, Jim Johnson, and others—and was cast in its inaugural production. The trio of plays, including Richardson’s own “The Broken Banjo,” was performed at the Community Arts Center on Second and Orange streets.

Both Lela and Melvin Thompson were the foundation of the Willis Richardson Players, and current members remain committed to carrying their legacy forward.