Shakespeare, Miles Davis unite in East St. Louis play written by ex-BND reporter
As the curtain falls on the 25th season of the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, audiences have one last chance to see a Bard-inspired production — and it will take them to the childhood home of Miles Davis in East St. Louis.
DeAsia Paige, a former Belleville News-Democrat reporter who covered East St. Louis, authored “Power.” The play is loosely based on Shakespeare’s “Richard III” and follows Richard Williams, a fictional mayoral candidate who plots his rise to political domination.
Kathryn Bentley, the play’s director, said she worked with Paige over several months to incorporate stories about East St. Louis gathered from the city’s residents.
“The folks who are from East St. Louis, they are the experts in the room,” Bentley said. “They were very much like, ‘This is a story that needs to be told.’”
Paige said her time reporting on the City of Champions informed the narrative. One portion of the play is inspired by the Clean City Coalition, a group that aims to combat environmental racism by hosting community cleanup events. The group was a routine presence in her stories and in the community at large, Paige said.
“I hope it’s something East St. Louisians are proud of and I hope they see a glimpse of themselves in the play,” Paige said.
That story draws on the complicated legacy of East St. Louis. Its history includes luminaries of art and music, but also carries a stigma of political corruption and the tragic shadow of the 1917 East St. Louis Race Massacre, which Paige said still has a residual effect to this day.
“Even with all of that history, there are still people (in East St. Louis) who made a name for themselves,” Paige said, rattling off a list that includes Jackie Joiner-Kersee and Miles Davis.
Rob Wood, who plays Richard in “Power,” said that people generally have a positive reaction to learning that he is from East St. Louis.
“Just as much as there is a stigma, there’s also flowers attached to the city,” he said. “I’m just happy and grateful that I’m one of the flowers.”
“Power” begins its three-night run on Thursday.
Paige is now a music and culture reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Her work can be found here.
Related event: What: Power: Shakespeare in the Streets When: 8:15 p.m. Sept. 25-27 Where: House of Miles East St. Louis, 1701 Kansas Ave., East St. Louis 62205
To hear the full conversation “Power” with director Kathryn Bentley and actor Rob Wood, listen to “St. Louis on the Air” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. The production intern is Darrious Varner. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
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This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 4:25 PM.