A workshop presentation of the new musical I Dream will receive its UK concert premiere at The Other Palace on Monday 27 April at 7.30pm. The musical traces the life of civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy as he reflects on his profound friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., set to a contemporary score rooted in gospel and soul.
Book, music and lyrics are by Douglas Tappin, with additional writing by Jonathan Payne. The workshop will be directed by Annabel Mutale Reed, with music direction by Keith Williams and casting by Heather Basten CDG CSA. Further casting and creative team members will be announced soon.
I Dream premiered in Atlanta in 2010 on the Alliance Stage, before a concert staging at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2017. The work has since been performed in operatic and concert forms across the USA, including at the Apollo Theater in New York. This new workshop marks the musical’s first presentation to UK audiences.
As described in the release, I Dream follows Abernathy as “his lifelong friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rises into sharp and haunting focus. Memories collide as Ralph is pulled back into the rallies, jails, and private moments where their partnership was forged and tested.”
The musical “brings the civil rights movement’s inner circle to the stage and reveals the personal stakes behind the public history. The musical offers an intimate look at the friendship at the heart of the movement, and what it truly cost to dream of a better world.”
Tickets start from £15 and are available now.
More information can be found here.
