Collaboraction and DuSable Museum To Present TRIAL IN THE DELTA Next Year

Collaboraction Theatre's Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till will return as a live, fully-produced stage production during Black History Month, co-presented with The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, 740 E. 56th Pl., Chicago, February 9-19, 2023.

Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, adapted by G. Riley Mills and Willie Round, co-directed by Anthony Moseley and Dana N. Anderson, is the first-ever stage adaptation taken directly from the unearthed trial transcript of Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, the two men found not guilty of murdering Emmett Till.

The production plays like a live reenactment of the actual court proceedings that ocurred in Sumner, Mississippi in 1955, one of the most monumental injustices of the U.S. legal system in the 20th century. Actors playing witnesses for the defense and prosecution, including Emmett Till's mother, Mamie Till-Bradley and other family members, will be seated among the audience, bringing the courtroom action to vivid life in a documentary-style setting. Key characters, based in real life, include judge Curtis Swango, defense attorney J.J. Breeland, district attorney Gerald Chatham, and, of course, J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, the two men who were found not guilty of murdering Emmett Till, but later admitted to the heinous crime.

"Once in a lifetime, if we are lucky, a project like this comes along and all we can do is play our part to serve the greater good of telling an important story and belonging to each other," said Anthony Moseley, Artistic Director, Collaboraction, and co-director of Trial in the Delta. "There are many plays about Emmett Till, but they are fictions created out of horrid facts that only guess at the actual language. When audiences experience how everything actually went down in that Mississippi courtroom, the impact is even more profound."

"Trial in the Delta allows contemporary audiences to experience this flagrant and historic racial injustice of our legal system," added Perri Irmer, President and CEO, The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center. "Placed in the context of today's much-publicized trials against Black men, this new work also illuminates ways in which history repeats itself."

Trial in the Delta launches with a student matinee, Thursday, February 9 at 10:30 a.m., followed by public performances Friday and Saturday, February 10 and 11 at 7 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 16-18 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, February 19 at 3 p.m. Tickets, $30-$55, are on-sale now at collaboraction.org.

Trial in the Delta is recommended for ages 12 and up. The production runs two hours and will be followed by a Crucial Conversation with the audience. Email info@collaboraction.org for information on student and group rates, and private event performances.

For more information, visit collaboraction.org, or follow the company on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.

Need more Chicago Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...