Class of 1972

Karla Burns

Photos contributed by Lindy Hink Hood

Karla Burns
Class of 1972

 

Karla Burns, known in high school for her beautiful mezzo-soprano voice and warm personality, became a national and international music theater and opera stage actor and singer during her lifetime. After graduating from Wichita West High School in 1972, she attended Wichita State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Education and a BA in Theatre Performance. During her career, she appeared with the Paris Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, Madrid's Teatro Real, the Cairo Opera House, at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, at New York City's Gershwin Theatre, Metropolitan Opera House, and Carnegie Hall, and at many more notable theaters. 

She was nominated for a Tony Award in 1983 and became the first black actor to receive Britain's most prestigious Laurence Olivier Award in 1991, both honors for her performance as Queenie in the Jerome Kern's musical "Show Boat". While Queenie was her most notable role, she portrayed Lily in George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" and Addie in Marc Blitzstein's "Regina" based on the play "The Little Foxes" by Lillian Hellman. Karla also appeared in many regional productions, including "South Pacific", "Hello Dolly", "To Kill a Mockingbird", and Shakespeare's a "Comedy of Errors". For many years, Karla portrayed Hattie McDaniel, the first black actor to win an Academy Award for her role as Mammy in "Gone With the Wind". Locally, Karla appeared in various productions at the Forum, including her personal favorite, "A Christmas Carol". Her last stage performance was in 2020 as Evilene in "The Wiz" at Roxy's Downtown. But, for some of her vocal music students who remember her fondly, maybe her most memorable role was as their friend and teacher.

On December 27, 2024, classmates of Karla Burns gathered in White Chapel Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Wichita to view the newly placed memorial bench which now marks her grave. Karla's sister, Donna Burns Revels, former vocal music students, classmates, and friends were there. KSN and KAKE news came to the cemetery to record the event and interviewed some of those in attendance. 

After being in poor health for some time, Karla passed away June 4, 2021, at the age of 66. Rose Palmer, a former voice student of Karla's, discovered that she had no head stone. When Rose was only eight years old, she saw Karla perform at her church. Fascinated, she begged her mother, Shelley, to let her take vocal lessons with Karla. Her mother, looking for a way to direct her daughter's energy, agreed. Rose continued to work with Karla through high school, and together they performed in various community theater venues, and stage shows at the Forum.

Coordinating with Karla's sister Donna, Rose started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for a memorial bench to be located at Karla's grave site in White Chapel. The photo on the back side of the bench is of Karla, her mother Catherine, who is buried next to her, and of her sister Donna, who will eventually be buried there. The photo on the front side of the bench was one of Karla's favorites as she wore the red outfit in local productions of "A Christmas Carol". 

It is hoped that the bench will provide a fitting place for Karla's friends and admirers to rest and remember her warm personality and beautiful voice.

KSN and KAKE news came to the cemetery and interviewed some of those in attendance. Their videos are located on our class website on the left sidebar under "In the News" at the following link: http://www.wichitawesthighclassof72.org.

For more information on Karla's life and career, please see her Wikipedia page at the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Burns and her "Find a Grave" page at the following link: Karla Arnetta Burns (1954-2021 - Find a Grave.