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Dar He Brings Story of Emmett Till to Stage
In 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black Chicago youth traveled to the Mississippi Delta with country kinfolk and southern cooking on his mind. He walked off the train and into a world he could never understand—a world of thick color lines, of hard-held class systems and unspeakable taboos.
On Monday, February 2, Piedmont Arts will bring the one-man play, Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till, to Rives Theatre in Uptown Martinsville. Featuring actor and playwright Mike Wiley, the play chronicles the story of Till's life and death and of the subsequent trial that helped ignite the civil rights movement.
"I am excited and energized about my upcoming return to Martinsville," said Wiley, who often pulls spectators from the audience to participate in his plays. "With each visit the audience grows larger and more engaged. That’s the purpose of theatre, sowing the seeds for greater discourse."
Wiley's play is based on historic interviews by Look Magazine journalist William Bradford Huie and conversations with those, including Emmett Till's mother, who were caught up in the events that led to Till’s devastating fate.
Tickets to Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till are $15 and are on sale at Piedmont Arts, located at 215 Starling Ave., by calling 276.632.3221, or online at www.PiedmontArts.org.
**Please note: This event was previously scheduled to take place at the Black Box Theatre. The location has been changed to Rives Theatre.