01/15/2007
An interesting comment on Isteve.com:
As one of a handful of white students in a nearly all-black elementary school in Northern NJ (in the early 80’s), I was one of the stars of my school’s play about MLK: I got to play the bus driver who told Rosa Parks to go to the back of the bus. The failure of a few of my classmates to understand the concept of acting made for some interesting times ("interesting" in the sense of the old Chinese curse).
In related theatrical news, Mark Steyn has the story of a 1990 attempt to make a musical about Dr. King’s life:
It couldn’t have happened to a nicer show. The British composer had been an admirer of Martin Luther King since his schooldays; he went to Detroit to study gospel music; he spent months of Sundays in the Ebenezer Baptist Church; he took a non-violence philosophy course in Atlanta; against the claims of a rival version by the Crossroads actor Martin Smith, he secured the support of King’s widow; equally impressive for someone who’s never written a musical before, he pulled off a deal with Decca for a pre-production recording of the score.
And then the peace and harmony began to unravel.
Happy Martin Luther King Day — KING — THE MUSICAL from Broadway Babies Say Goodnight