Newberry Library is hosting a discussion and performance with Chicago Opera Theater ( COT ) involving the production Freedom Ride on Wed., Jan. 29, 6-7:30 p.m., at the library's Ruggles Hall, 60 W. Walton St.
The production's plot is as follows: When the Congress of Racial Equality comes to New Orleans in the sweltering summer of 1961, Sylvie Davenport is torn. Handed a pamphlet and asked to board a Greyhound bus, Sylvie is forced to choose between her academic future and the future of the nation.
In this conversation, theater director Tazewell Thompson will discuss this new work with Chicago Opera Theater and Staley Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya. Their discussion will guide viewers through exclusive excerpts from the opera, performed by Freedom Ride stars Lauren Michelle, Cornelius Johnson and Robert Sims.
COT is running Freedom Ride on Feb. 8, 14 and 16.
Admission is free to the Newberry event, but RSVPs are required; visit Newberry.org