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Kumbayah: The Juneteenth Story Live Play
June 17, 2022 @ 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Free
This year we will host our 2nd Annual Juneteenth Jubilee with two live Play productions at Breck School’s Carlson Theatre.
Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story written by Rose McGee is a 90-minute fictitious, two-act play that addresses a factual and traumatic time in our history – when the news was deliberately withheld that Black people were no longer to be kept as slaves in this country. Storytelling and music weave together mesmerizing scenes. Although tragedy is depicted, this play within a play is tremendously uplifting. The story begins with a Prologue set in the early 1800s in a small West African village where a young mother and her small son are being abducted from their home by slave catchers. Act One: Scene One is set in the present time in a popular North Minneapolis soul-food restaurant where a group of youths and adults ultimately end up discussing what Juneteenth means. Before long they all agree to attend a play about Juneteenth. The story then shifts into 1863 on the Turner Plantation in Tyler, Texas with the character Frederick Douglass as Narrator. Although interpretation is best suited for ages 8 and up, children of all ages are welcome to attend.
Pre-show: A special reception with light refreshments and emphasis on the significance of voting precedes the 7 pm show from 5:30 pm to 6:50 pm.
Be sure to view Character Values: Upholding Our Beloved Community, which will be on display. This photo exhibit celebrates our community heroes, and this activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.