Bridge Street Theatre to Celebrate Black History Month with TURNING 15 ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM

In celebration of Black History Month, an electrifying first-hand account of the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery takes the stage at Catskill's Bridge Street Theatre on February 10, 11, and 12.

"Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom" tells the moving, true story of one of the youngest participants, Lynda Blackmon, who struggled nonviolently alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. to help secure the right of African-Americans to vote. Jailed nine times before her fifteenth birthday, her stirring and inspiring tale lets audiences of all ages experience the courage it took to help change American history.

Originally developed at Fiorello LaGuardia High School for Music, Art, and Performing Arts in NYC, this stage adaptation of Lynda Blackmon Lowery's award-winning book for young readers is directed by actress, author, director and teacher Ally Sheedy and powerfully performed by dynamic young actress Damaras Obi.

"Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom" will be presented on the Bridge Street Theatre Mainstage for four performances only - Friday February 10 at 7:30pm, Saturday February 11 at 2:00pm and 7:30pm, and Sunday February 12 at 2:00pm.

Regular tickets are $20, $10 for Students, and can be pre-purchased at BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling 800-838-3006. Tickets will also be sold at the door 45-minutes prior to each performance on a space available basis. To make arrangements for special group rates, call 518-943-3894. The theatre is located at 44 West Bridge Street in the Village of Catskill, NY.

For more information, visit the theatre online at BridgeStreetTheatre.org.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Lynda Blackmon Lowery (Author) was the youngest of the 300 marchers to make the full, historic march from Selma to Montgomery which eventually led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Her account of that march, "Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March", was selected by the American Library Association as one of 2015's five top nonfiction books for young adults, was cited as a Kirkus Best Book, a Booklist Editor's Choice, a BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, and was the recipient of a the prestigious 2016 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor. She currently works as a case manager at a mental health center and still lives in Selma, Alabama.

Damaras Obi (Lynda Blackmon) is a 19-year-old published author, actress, director and singer. She studied Drama at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music, Art, and the Performing Arts in NYC.

Ally Sheedy (Director) is an actor, author, and teacher. Her first film role was opposite Sean Penn in "Bad Boys" (1983). Since then she has appeared in over 50 film and television projects, notably "War Games", "The Breakfast Club", "St. Elmo's Fire", "Short Circuit", "High Art" (Best Actress - Independent Spirit Award, LA Critics' Award, National Society of Film Critics' Award), "Life During Wartime" (directed by Todd Solondnz, Gotham Award nomination), and "Full Circle" (Neil LaBute writer/producer 2013). Ally played the character 'Yang' in the series "psych" from 2009 to 2014 and appeared Off Broadway over the summer of 2014 in "The Long Shrift" directed by James Franco. She has two books and several essays and articles published, is the proud mom of Beck Lansbury, and co-teaches film/theatre classes with junior and senior students at LaGuardia High School for the Arts in NYC.