Providence Performing Arts Center to Present FROM FREE TO FREEDOM: A JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

The Providence Performing Arts Center will present a FREE Wonders of the Wurlitzer concert: From Free to Freedom: A Juneteenth Celebration on Wednesday, June 19 at 7P. This concert is held in collaboration with Juneteenth RI, Mixed Magic Theatre, Rhode Island Black Storytellers and Providence’s Department of Art, Culture and Tourism.

Written and directed by Ricardo Pitts-Wiley of Pawtucket’s Mixed Magic Theatre, From Free to Freedom is a play with music, dance and storytelling that celebrates Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the end of 300 years of the enslavement of African people in America.

This special concert is accompanied by PPAC’s rare and historic Mighty Wurlitzer as brought to life by House Organist Peter Edwin Krasinski and narrated by Jomo Peters and Bernadet V. Pitts-Wiley with a special appearance by Valerie Tutson of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers.

Musical director Kim Pitts-Wiley, in collaboration with Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, directs some of Rhode Island’s finest singers and actors, including Joyce Brayboy, Jeannie Carson, Matt Fraza, Autumn Jefferson, Donna Osborne, Corinne Pitts-Wiley, Habibah Quddus, Ondrea Robinson, Lauri Smalls, Kim Trusty, Aaliyah Turner, Diane Straker, Denyse Wilhem and Gia Yarn. From Free to Freedom is a pre-event to the 6th Annual Juneteenth RI Festival to be held this year in Downtown Providence at 195 District Park on June 22, 2024 from noon (12P) to 7P.

“Black History and the true stories of Africa’s people does not begin with the North American Slave Trade. It begins in the many great nations of Africa,” said Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, Director of From Free to Freedom and co-founder of Mixed Magic Theatre. “From Free to Freedom takes the audience on the journey of a people torn from the lives of family, friends and traditions in their homelands, through the horrors of bondage, to freedom.”

“For the past five years, Juneteenth RI has collectively celebrated African American liberations, accomplishments and contributions, inner strength and endurance through the observance of Juneteenth,” said Helen Baskerville-Dukes, President of Juneteenth RI. “We are excited and looking forward to this year’s From Free to Freedom performance, a dynamic collaboration between PPAC, Mixed Magic Theatre and RI Black Storytellers; this performance received a standing ovation last year as it took the audience through the emancipating and resilient journey of freedom. We anticipate this year’s performance will be as transformative, uplifting and engaging as last year’s.”

“PPAC is proud to once again collaborate with impactful community organizations through our Wonders of the Wurlitzer community outreach program to share the story of Juneteenth, a story that is as much about where we have been as it is about how far we have yet to go,” said Ricky Gresh, PPAC Director of Special Projects and Assistant to the President/CEO.

For more information, please visit ppacri.org/Juneteenth