Mixed Magic Theatre Presents Two Tributes to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King's writings and sermons were important during his lifetime and are now celebrated around the world. King's words not only gave voice to Black peoples' struggle for justice and equality in America, they are eloquent chronicles of an era. They are evidence of his remarkable ability to talk to all people by using language that could be understood and appreciated by the uneducated and scholars at the same time. King's great oratory skills gave his words even more weight.

For the 2019 Martin Luther King Holiday and Black History Month, Mixed Magic Theatre will present dramatic interpretations of two of King's most important works. In January veteran actor Ricardo Pitts-Wiley will play MLK in 1963, as he writes a passionate letter in support of non-violent protests from a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama. In this letter he responds to a group of Alabama clergymen who suggest in a newspaper article that Black people are wrong to protest injustice in America.
Letter From Birmingham City Jail will be directed by Mixed Magic Artistic Director, Jonathan Pitts-Wiley.

In February, Pitts- Wiley will direct his son Jonathan in a staging of MLK's famous Beyond Vietnam speech at the Riverside Church in Harlem, where he adds his voice to the opposition to the war in Southeast Asia. A war that was, and continues to have a devastating impact on America's Black community.

Each performance will be followed by a post-show discussion, led by a special guest moderator. Mixed Magic Theatre | 560 Mineral Spring, At Lorraine Mills,
Pawtucket, RI 02860

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