[NEohioPAL] Mark Twain and Black History Month

[Danny]

Akron, OH  - On January 20th, we celebrated the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America.  This marked the first time a black man had been elected to lead our country.  But it should also be noted that his platform was not one of division and color.  It was one leaving the Democratic National Convention under the banner UNITED to promote the idea that CHANGE CAN HAPPEN.

These ideas are ideals.  They are goals everyone might aspire to beyond just a dream.  One might think of this when looking back to the words of Martin Luther King Jr. in his famous “I have a dream...” speech.  King expressed a hope for change and a desire for unity in a world of lines dividing people by color.  There was movement in this time not long ago that brought the people of our country closer together and began building a path towards the history being made today.

On the eve of the President Obama’s inauguration, we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  This day marked what would have been the leader’s 80th birthday.  It is amazing to reflect back eighty years and on how much change one can see in a lifetime.  Some living in the days of our country’s civil rights movement might even have thought back to a childhood near the Civil War and slavery.  These were realities in a not so distant past that remain points of contention and denial.  There was even a great deal of debate in our Congress on this topic when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was being first being considered.  Every point was made into issue, and the cost of closing government and businesses to celebrate a man of ideals was brought forefront.  In rebuttal, then Senator Bob Dole had said, “To those who would worry about cost, I would suggest they hurry back to their pocket calculators and estimate the cost of 300 years of slavery, followed by a
 century or more of economic, political and social exclusion and discrimination."

It is in remembering the past that one can learn from it and grow.  During this Black History Month of 2009, The University of Akron’s School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration will look back into such a different time with the production of Big River, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  The production is directed by University of Akron professor Susan Speers and will feature the talent of Brian Johnson in the role of Jim by courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association.  

Performances will be on The University of Akron campus in the Paul A. Daum Theatre in Kolbe Hall.  Performance times will be at 8 p.m. February 26-28 and March 5-7 with one 2 p.m. matinee on March 1.

Big River, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a musical based on characters from the writings of Mark Twain.  This production shares with audiences a time in the pre-civil war South where Huck learns about life.  His experiences with an old friend Tom Sawyer, and new friend Jim, an escaped slave, teach Huck about responsibility and friendship.  Much in the spirit of Obama’s campaign, this play is not about color or racism.  It is more about boy growing up in a world where he sees people from a perspective that is color blind.

Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 for UA faculty/staff and retirees, and $6 for students.  The ticket office opens one hour before each performance.  For reservations or more information, please call 330-972-7895 or visit our performance website at http://www3.uakron.edu/dtaa/performances.htm.