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MOUNDSVILLE -- The Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library will have a special after-hours event at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, when JoAnn Peterson, of Kingwood, W.Va., will bring another remarkable woman of history to life in a first-person portrayal of Jenny Lind.
This entertaining and informative event is free and open to the public and is aimed at adults and school-age children.
Lind, the Swedish Nightingale, was a world-renowned opera singer, philanthropist and woman of great faith whom Mendelssohn called "the most gifted artist of the century." She inspired Hans Christian Andersen to pen "The Snow Queen," which was the inspiration behind Disney's "Frozen." Hear the true story of her American tour promoted by PT Barnum, which was inaccurately portrayed in "The Greatest Showman."
In her travels in the 1800s, Lind made a stop in Wheeling. Peterson's Chautauqua-style performance will allow the audience to ask questions of the character.
Other historical figures Peterson portrays are child star, diplomat and author Shirley Temple Black; Mary Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln; Margaret "The Unsinkable Molly" Brown of Titanic fame; and founding mother Abigail Adams.
Peterson is a presenter with the West Virginia Humanities Council History Alive! program and has written and performs A Mother's Heart Divided, A West Virginia Civil War Story. Her performances in professional musical theater include the role of Mother Abbess in "The Sound of Music" with West Virginia Public Theatre. She also portrayed Julia Pierpont in the West Virginia PBS documentary "West Virginia: Road to Statehood," among numerous other roles and performances. Peterson is the owner of Mountaineer Country Tours.
The Moundsville Library program is sponsored by the Robert Baker Family and will be held in the downstairs meeting room.
The library is located at the corner of Fifth Street and Tomlinson Avenue in Moundsville. Call 304-845-6911 for more information.