
The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center is a gem of a building, built in 1893 as a school. It sits back from the road, a sculpture garden gracing the lawn. My screening is in the old auditorium, a theatre in the round with wood walls and floors, old padded theatre chairs. The Sister's - a group of black women who live in Madison - are there in full. A book group has told its members to attend. And there are many locals. They all know each other and the reception is lively.
I always listen to hear whether the audience laughs at the places in the film where I want them to laugh. This Southern group laughs alot - they like to enjoy themselves. And here in Madison they are particularly fond of one line in the film: "Langston Hughes said he'd rather be a lamppost in Harlem than the Mayor of a town in Georgia".
Today, if Langston were alive he might change his mind. I can see him sitting on one of those antebellum porches in a rocker. And I can imagine Zora zipping through town in her red convertible. She would have felt right at home with her Sister's in Madison, Georgia, attending the screening, looking fine.
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