Cast and Design Team Revealed for DELTA: THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL at Collaboraction

Collaboraction Theatre Company has revealed the cast and design team for Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, the inaugural production at Chicago’s newest live theater space, Collaboraction’s new House of Belonging in Humboldt Park, opening this Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m.

The company’s award-winning live docudrama, returning in its most fully realized form yet, features an ensemble of returning artists and new voices: NK Gutiérrez (Mamie Bradley), Darren Jones (Mose Wright), Mysun Aja Wade (Willie Reed), Donald Fitzdarryl (Chester Miller), Steve Silver (J.J. Breland), John Henry Roberts (Gerald Chatham), Richard Alan Baiker (Judge Curtis Swango), Mickey Dolan (Charlie Cox/clerk), Loren Lazerine (George Smith), Robert “Blue” Bellue (Peter Hackus), Tyler Burke (Roy Bryant), Matt Miles (J.W. Milam), Lauren Laverdiere (Mrs. Roy Bryant) and Jamie Vann (H.C. Strider). 

Collaboraction’s creative and production team includes G. Riley Mills and Willie Round (co-adaptors), Anthony Moseley and Dana N. Anderson (co-directors), Emmy Weldon (set), Alexandria Richardson (costumes), Levi Wilkins (lights), Shawn Wallace (original music), Warren Levon (sound), Loretta Hawkins (creative consultant), Claire Simon (casting director), Zach Grasee, associate sound designer), Gina Montalvo (production manager), Alivia Arizaga (assistant Costume Designer), AJ Johnson and Enika Hale (wig stylists) and LaT’ya Johnson (stage manager). Understudies are Lena Janes, Jaiden Lindsey and Ernest G. Perry.

“As Collaboraction turns 30 and opens our new House of Belonging in Humboldt Park, we couldn't co-dream a more relevant first production than Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, bringing to life the trial that served as a catalyst of the start of the Civil Rights movement,” said Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley. “When Mamie Till said that ‘everybody's business is my business,’ it’s as if she had a dream for a Beloved Community. We are honored to be a part of her legacy and manifesting our new space for arts, youth, social justice and community.”

Co-adapted by Willie Round and G. Riley Mills and co-directed by Anthony Moseley and Dana Anderson, Trial in the Delta unfolds like a live reenactment of the actual proceedings in Sumner, Mississippi. Actors seated among the audience rise to become witnesses for the prosecution and defense—including the trailblazing Mamie Till-Bradley, bringing raw, unfiltered history to life.

Born from a groundbreaking collaboration with NBC5 Chicago, Trial in the Delta won a National Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary, two Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards and a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association. Collaboraction grew the teleplay into a full-length, immersive theatrical experience that had two short runs at the DuSable Black History Museum. The final live performance in February 2023 was professionally filmed and has been screened for groups including the The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, the Chicago History Museum, the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the First Circuit Court of Philadelphia. 

The final preview of Trial in the Delta is Thursday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m. Collaboraction’s Grand Opening Performance and Ritual Celebration is Friday, February 6. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Arrive by 7 p.m. for a live performance and opening remarks in Collaboraction’s new cafe and lounge. Show time is 7:30 p.m.

Performances continue through March 1: Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. (Exception: No 3 p.m. show Saturday, February 7.) Run time is under two hours, including a short Crucial Conversation after every performance. Twelve jury seats are available to audience members at every performance.

Tickets, $25-$55, are now on sale at collaboraction.org. Groups of 10 or more receive a 10% discount. Email boxoffice@collaboraction.org or call (312) 226-9633 for more information.

Collaboraction’s new home is now open in the Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave in Humboldt Park. The sleek, 4,000-square foot space features a new 99-seat flexible studio theater and a 50-seat cabaret with cafe and bar. Free and nearby street parking is available. For CTA riders, the 82 Kimball-Homan bus stops right in front of the building. The theater is also a short walk from the Kimball stop on the 72 North and 73 Armitage bus lines. For bikers and pedestrians, the Kimball trailhead on The 606 leads directly to the Kimball Arts Center.