"And They Lynched Him on a Tree" will be presented at the 
CU-ATLAS Black Box, 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Feb. 11 and 12

A collaborative effort between the College of Music and Department of Theatre and Dance, "And They Lynched Him on a Tree" brings awareness to the history of lynching and our society's evolving struggle toward healing and justice. The production challenges the audience to reflect on the past and become involved as active, informed citizens.

The show will be performed in open rehearsal at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11,
and as a full performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12.

The musical composition "And They Lynched Him On A Tree" is a landmark 1939 work by black American composer William Grant Still and white poet Katherine Garrison Chapin. The work is scored for orchestra and chorus. Performers will sing the parts of a white mob that lynches a black man–and the parts of his friends and family who mourn his passing. 

Still's composition becomes the centerpiece around which the performance, installations, film projections and dancing bodies on the earth and in the air work to blur the line between us and them, black and white, audience and performer, and past and present.

Performers are students and faculty from CU dance and music as well as community-based artists. Artistic direction is led by Fred Peterbark (choir direction) and Onye Ozuzu (choreography) and has engaged vigorous collaboration with the likes of Nancy Smith (Frequent Flyers Productions), Nathan Montgomery (Syzgy Butoh), Gaviao Fierros (Capoeria Luanda) and Fara Tolno (Kissidugo African Drum and Dance Ensemble), among others. 

Note: Friday, Feb. 11, is an open rehearsal.

The show begins at 7 p.m. and will begin with installation performances running concurrently and continually until 8 p.m. at various locations around the ATLAS building. At 8 p.m, the performance with dancers and choir begins in the Black Box theater located downstairs, lowest basement level, B2.

Note: If there is an overflow crowd, people can watch live video of the Black Box performance on the video wall in the ATLAS lobby, located on the 1st floor near the main entrance.

Admission is free and open to the public.
Seating is limited and first come, first served.
Reservations are recommended. 

Reserve your seats under "Ticket Information" at the top of this page.

Note: When "Reserved Tickets" are sold out, it is usually possible to see the performance. (Not every reserved ticket holder shows up, which allows for waiting list ticket holders.) Also, there is often space for standing room and/or sitting on the floor.

Please arrive at least 15 minutes before curtain time. 

It is not necessary to print out a physical ticket. Your name will be checked off against a list of ticket holders and those on the waiting list. 

Photography by Michael Weintrob, http://michaelweintrob.com