WILLIAM'S LEAP FOR FREEDOM

In 1834, William Wells Brown slipped off a steamboat in Cincinnati, Ohio, and gained his freedom from slavery. This lively production dramatizes the highlights of Brown’s long, successful career as an abolitionist, lecturer, and the nation’s first African-American playwright. Anchored by a predominately black ensemble led by Mirron E. Willis, the production features excerpts from Brown’s own works and pulls no punches, even using the “N” word and creating the authentic sound of a nineteenth-century “black face” minstrel show. (Brown employed the minstrel style to gently confront 1850s audiences with the hypocrisy of a country that sanctioned slavery.) The National Audio Theatre Festivals has created an educational and entertaining play that sounds as historically honest, brave, and intelligent as Brown himself. B.P. 2011 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2011]