BLOOD AT THE ROOT
By Dominique Morisseau
Choreography by A. Kikora Franklin
Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III
Blood at the Root premiered at the Penn State School of Theatre in March 2014
A striking new ensemble drama based on the Jena Six; six Black students who were initially charged with attempted murder for a school fight after being provoked with nooses hanging from a tree on campus. This bold new play by Dominique Morisseau (Sunset Baby, Detroit ’67, Skeleton Crew) examines the miscarriage of justice, racial double standards, and the crises in relations between men and women of all classes and, as a result, the shattering state of Black family life.
When a black student disrupts the status quo at her high school by occupying space typically reserved for white students, her community erupts in hate speech, violence, and chaos. Inspired by the Jena Six case, which roiled tensions in Louisiana in 2006, Morisseau’s play scrutinizes the intrinsic links between justice, bias, and identity. Moving, lyrical, and bold, Blood at the Root probes the complexities of race, individual freedoms, and what justice means when biases have been normalized.
https://arts.psu.edu/outreach/penn-state-centre-stage/
DEADLINE TO RESERVE AUDIO DESCRIPTION – MARCH 11, 2022
Tickets are required
Reservations are also necessary for the AD service; please contact the SLSG office (office@slsg.org or phone 814-238-0132) by March 11. Please arrive by 7 pm to obtain your equipment and to listen to valuable pre-show information. Audio description will be available via an embedded recorded system for all performances of this show: please call for more information.
BLOOD AT THE ROOT’s running time is approximately 2 hours 30 minutes.