King sisters to host script reading of “Our Josephine”

Published 11:58 am Friday, February 7, 2020

A feature film adaptation of Oxford’s Katherine and Margaret King’s book “Our Josephine” is in development, and the King sisters are set to host a reading of the film’s script this month.

On Feb. 15, a free reading of the script will take place at the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library at 2 p.m. The event is presented by the Oxford Film Festival and Theatre Oxford.

The book, which was released in 2014, centers around the sisters while they spent a week with their grandmother in Vicksburg during the summer of 1957. During the week, the twin sisters met Josephine, a 16-year-old African-American girl who was their grandmother’s caregiver.

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The book chronicles the sisters trying to coax Josephine into some of their adventures, but instead Josephine teaches the Kings life lessons while also explaining the meaning of respect, no matter a person’s skin color, and what real friendship means.

Rebecca Jernigan wrote the screenplay adaptation and is also directing the film. Jernigan wrote the screenplay in hopes it would be picked up as a television miniseries or as a feature film, according to Margaret.

“We’re thrilled that the Oxford Film Festival and Theatre Oxford are presenting the stage reading of ‘Our Josephine,'” Margaret said. “We finally get a chance to see this play come to life.”

The cast includes Lynn Wells, Patti Lewis, Kaye Bryant, Silas Reed, Harper and Sadie Grey, Kathi Ivy, Marjorie Buckley, Bud Fanton, George Kehoe, Julie Fanton, Dave Bell, Gus Keene, Susan Hickman and Anne Klingen.

More information about the reading can be found at oxfordfilmfest.com.