The Little Rock Nine’s legacy will be hitting the stage in Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj’s “Little Rock”, this summer in New York at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in New York.
Maharaj is responsible for writing and directing the upcoming show. While the show first took the stage in 2011, this is its first time in New York, according to playbill.com.
Junior and Little Rock native, Bowman Johnson, is hoping that the production starts a bigger conversation about what African-Americans had to go through in order to receive an education.
“I think it’s amazing that their story is reaching places instead of just the South,” Johnson said. “I think in New York, it will reach all different types of people and I hope that those people will leave with an understanding of what happened in history.”
“Little Rock” received the 2015 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Ensemble for it’s 2014 production at The Passage Theatre in Trenton, New Jersey, according to Playbill.
“The Little Rock Nine shows what it was like to get a better education as an African American. Their legacy is so important because it can serve as a reminder, especially for me, that a person would not have been able to go to school just because of the color of their skin,” Johnson said.
Jamaerius Geter, sophomore and former student at Little Rock Central High School said he is excited for the show and is looking forward to more people becoming aware of what happened at Central High.
“I’m hoping that it enlightens people about what happened. I’ve run into people, even here at Harding, that have not heard of Central High and don’t really know what the Little Rock Nine is. I hope that it continues to raise awareness,” Geter said. “It shows that people who want to stand up for what’s right, as long as they stick to their guns, they can make a difference.”
Preview performances will begin May 30, opening night will be June 14 with performances scheduled through Sept. 8.
