ONE MOMENT OF FREEDOM to Have World Premiere at Theatre 40 This Week

The World Premiere engagement of the new play One Moment of Freedom, written by Marion J. Zola, directed by Linda Alznauer, and produced by David Hunt Stafford for Theatre 40, will run July 27 through August 27, 2023 at Theatre Forty, (241 S, Moreno Drive, in the Mary Levin Cutler Theatre, Beverly Hills, CA 90212).

The venue is on the campus of Beverly Hills High School. Free parking is available in the parking lot beneath the theatre. To access parking, enter through the driveway at the intersection of Durant and Moreno Drives.

One Moment of Freedom is the little-known story of Bet, a courageous enslaved woman who sued her enslaver in court in 1781 for the basic human right to be free, ultimately leading to the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts.

Marion J. Zola is the playwright. Her books include All the Good Ones Are Married (the basis for a Lifetime movie) and a memoir, Romancing the Dog. She has written for All in the Family, The Love Boat, Laverne and Shirley,a movie-for television Sharing Richard, and a PBS documentary series Shelter Me, which she also co-produces. One Moment of Freedom is her first full-length play.

Linda Alznauer is the director. Her previous directing credits include All My Sons, And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, To Grandmother's House We Go, Otherwise Engaged, Another Antigone, The Real Thing, Trapped at Teatime, Motel 66, Midnight Meeting, Visiting Oliver, and more. A graduate of USC Film School, she is also an actor.

Linda's cast for One Moment of Freedom includes Catherine Bruhier, Joe Clabby, Kriistal Dickerson, Mandy Fason, Michael Kerr, Dan Leslie, Diane Linder, Michael Robb, Katyana Rocker-Cook, David Westbay and Jeffrey Winner. Some roles are double-cast.

Set design: Jeff G. Rack. Costume design: Michael Mullen. Stage manager: Ryan Rowles.

As the United States is currently experiencing a reckoning with its racial past, One Moment of Freedom couldn't be more timely.

Performances:

Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.- July 27, August 3, 10, 17, 24

Fridays at 7:30 p.m.- July 28, August 11, 25

Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.- July 29, August 12, 26

Sundays at 2:00 p.m.- July 30, August 13, 27

Sundays at 7:00 p.m.- July 30, August 13

Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.- August 15

Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.- August 2, 9, 16

ADMISSION: $35.

RESERVATIONS: (310) 364-3606.