As a part of its Centennial Year Celebration, the First Presbyterian Church, Altadena presents “One Way or Another,” an in-worship drama about two former Pasadena City College baseball players, Shig Takayama and Jackie Robinson, as they pushed up against the stubborn “whites only” barriers of the 1930s.
This short play highlights the friendship of these two young men, one Japanese-American and the other African- American, who grew up in same Pasadena neighborhood. The play offers insights into the motivations which might have supported their perseverance in standing up to the racial discrimination they faced as collegiate baseball players.
The drama draws upon each of their affiliation with a local church - Jackie with Scott United Methodist Church, and Shig with the Japanese Union Church, now the First Presbyterian Church, Altadena. Based both on written history and on the “living history” provided by the testimonies of those who knew Shig and Jackie, the play witnesses to how faith and spiritual strength influenced these two young men, both on and off the athletic field.
The play will be performed at the First Presbyterian Church, Altadena on Sunday, April 14 at the 10:30 AM. worship service. The address is: 2775 Lincoln Avenue, Altadena 91001. The congregation celebrates the lives of Shig Takayama and Jackie Robinson as each in their own way, overcame the barriers which attempted to hold them back.
All in attendance are invited to join the congregation for a Ballpark Franks picnic on the church patio and lawn after worship service.
