Contact: Jill McMillan, MSU School of Music, (517) 353-9958, jill@msu.edu; or Kristin Anderson, University Relations, (517) 353-8819, ander284@msu.edu
2/05/2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. � �O! Freedom!� starring Jack Waddell, an operatic bass singer, and the Michigan State University Chorale will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16, and Tuesday, Feb. 17, in the Pasant Theatre of the Wharton Center.
The musical drama tells the true story of fugitive slave John W. Jones, 1817-1900, and his heroic rise to prominence in Elmira, N.Y. After escaping slavery, he helped more than 800 fugitives escape to Canada. As sexton of the Woodlawn Cemetery, Jones personally buried the 2,988 Southern soldiers who died in Elmira�s prison camp. It is the only Civil War graveyard with no unmarked graves.
Written and directed by Ted Reinert, the one-man show features 12 traditional spirituals in new a capella arrangements for soloist and choir by William David Brohn, Tony Award winner and MSU School of Music alumnus, and George Guilbault, musical director of acclaimed Boston chorale, �Wintersauce.�
�O! Freedom!� premiered in a sold out performance in Elmira in 1998. The show has reached a number of cities and just returned from its first international engagement in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Sponsors of the event are the School of Music, College of Arts & Letters, MSU Affirmative Action Office and the Wharton Center. The show is free and open to the public. A panel discussion with audience participation will follow the performance.
For more information, visit the Web at www.music.msu.edu or call Jill McMillan at (517) 353-9958.