Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN, Times Staff WriterA Civil War soldier's tale will be told Wednesday in drama and song.
In March 1859, 436 slaves were sold at a massive auction in Savannah, Ga. The event became known as "The Weeping Time."
In Forever Free, a musical based on that sale and subsequent events, a young man called Kofi is torn from his mother, sold and shipped to St. Helena, S.C., to work on a cotton plantation.
It's his story that will be told by the Theatreworks/USA acting troupe Wednesday at the Center for the Arts at River Ridge.
Once on the plantation, Kofi hears of a brewing civil war. He and a friend decide to escape and join Col. Thomas Higginson's First South Carolina Volunteers, the first regiment of black soldiers in the Union Army. In return for their service, they're promised freedom after the war.
Unfortunately, some in Washington don't think black soldiers are competent to fight in the war and refuse to let the regiment wear the Union uniform or carry weapons. They do allow Col. Higginson to hire a teacher from Philadelphia, Charlotte Forten, to teach the soldiers how to read and write.
In this production, historical figures and events are mixed with new and traditional songs to tell the story of the slaves' quest for education and freedom.
If you goWHAT: Forever Free, a musical
WHERE: Center for the Arts at River Ridge, 11646 Town Center Road, New Port Richey
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. and noon Wednesday
TICKETS: $4. Call 774-7381