Associate Professor of Music Stephen Newby was commissioned by Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre to compose a children’s musical theatre production based on the novel, Free Boy: A True Story of Slave and Master, about an African-American slave who ran away to Canada. The musical is on tour until the end of May in schools across Washington state.
Based on the book by Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry historian-emeritus Lorraine McConaghy and Seattle historian Judy Bentley, the musical tells the tale of young Charles Mitchell, brought to Washington Territory as a slave in 1855, and his escape to British Columbia. “With engaging music and powerful lyrics, it is a story of hope, risk, and perseverance that tells a little-known and important piece of Civil War era history in the Pacific Northwest.” (From the musical’s playbill.)
Posted: Thursday, August 17, 2017