STC Opens FREE TO BE...YOU & ME for 7/15-30 Run

Street Theatre Company presents the musical Free to be...You and Me July 15-30, featuring over 20 area youth directed by Bakari King.

The show is the culmination of a free five-week youth program, thanks in part to a generous grant from the Nashville Predators Foundation and a partnership with the Tulip Street United Methodist Church. During the camp, the young actors work with local professional artists including Cathy Street, Elaina Shaver and King.

A project of the Ms. Foundation for Women, Free to be...You and Me was originally an album and illustrated book first released in November 1972 featuring songs and stories sung or told by celebrities of the day including Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, Michael Jackson, Marlo Thomas and Diana Ross.

An ABC Afterschool Special using poetry, songs and sketches, followed two years later in March 1974. The basic concept was to encourage post-1960's gender neutrality, saluting values such as individuality, tolerance, and comfort with one's identity. A major thematic message is that anyone - whether a boy or a girl - can achieve anything. Free to be...You and Me has become a cult classic across the United States amongst many who were children of New Age parents in the 1970s.

"It is really fun to see the parents of young actors sing along during rehearsal," says Street, who is music director of the show. "And while some of our students already knew the songs because their parents introduced them to it, it is also exciting to see a revival, if you will, as some of these young people learn it for the first time!"

Tickets are only $6 each, priced for the entire family to experience together the show. Performances will be held at Street Theatre, 1933 Elm Hill Pike, and performances are July 15-30, with shows Fridays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at www.streettheatrecompany.org.