The Ford's Theatre Legacy Commissions: A First Look at Ford's Theatre

Ford’s Theatre presents a new artistic initiative for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) playwrights that will broaden the American theatre canon. Experience the power of Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commissions.

The Ford's Theatre Legacy Commissions will serve as an artistic incubator for stories about social justice and racial history and explore the varied experiences of underrepresented characters and lesser-known historical figures and their contributions to American life.

The Commissions process will include extensive development, encompassing first readings, developmental workshops and world-premiere productions within the next decade. The Commissions initiative is led by Ford’s Theatre Senior Artistic Advisor Sheldon Epps, Director of Artistic Programming José Carrasquillo and The Ford's Theatre Legacy Commissions Advisor Sydné Mahone.

Playwrights Pearl Cleage, Rickerby Hinds, Nambi E. Kelley, Dominic Taylor and Charlayne Woodard comprise the inaugural writers of The Ford's Theatre Legacy Commissions.

Something Moving: A Meditation on Maynard

by Pearl Cleage, directed by Seema Sueko

Thursday, February 2, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 4, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.  

Pearl Cleage’s commission explores the legacy and election of Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first Black mayor. In choosing to tell the story of the 1973 landmark election, we are introduced to everyday-life citizens of Atlanta as they recollect the significance of the election. In paying homage to Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, Cleage has turned the city of Atlanta into a full-blooded character. 

Young and Just 

by Dominic Taylor, directed by Donald Douglass 

Friday, February 3, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.  

Dominic Taylor’s commission explores the life and work of African American pioneer biologist Dr. Ernest Everett Just and that of his lead researcher Dr. Roger Arliner Young. Taylor’s investigation into the life and scientific achievements of Dr. Young – known as the Black Apollo of Science – led him to Dr. Young’s association with another scientist, Dr. Just. This character-driven account highlights Taylor’s revelatory and insightful storytelling.  

Blackbox

by Rickerby Hinds, directed by Thomas F. DeFrantz

Saturday, February 4, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.  

Magic, musicality and movement abound in Rickerby Hinds’ commission, which explores the remarkable life of abolitionist Henry Box Brown, who was also a magician and an illusionist. In 1849, he arranged to have himself mailed in a wooden crate from Virginia to abolitionist contacts in Philadelphia. Considered a theatre pioneer in merging hip hop and theatre, Hinds transforms his story into an epic poem with hip hop influence and magic to highlight the spectacular nature of Brown’s journey to freedom. Later in his life, Henry Brown became a noted abolitionist speaker and went on to earn a living as a touring magician.