newTACTics Premieres ALABAMA STORY by Kenneth Jones Tonight

newTACTics premieres Alabama Story by Kenneth JonesDirected by Karen Azenberg, featuring: Corey Allen, Seth Andrew Bridges, Torsten Hillhouse, Bill Nabel, Lesley Shires, and Kay Walbye.

TONIGHT, June 18th at 7PM

Thursday June 19th at 7PM

A children's picture book about a white rabbit marrying a black rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist senator and a librarian in 1959 Montgomery, just as the Civil Rights movement is flowering. Inspired by true events, Alabama Story puts co-workers, star-crossed lovers and one frisky children's author on the same page to conjure a Deep South of the imagination.

From the Playwright:

Playwrights are always on the lookout for ideas for their next play. Strong characters and richly contrasting conflicts rarely just fall into my lap, but that's exactly what happened when I opened the newspaper and read the obituary of a retired librarian named Emily Wheelock Reed.

In 1959, Reed was director of Alabama Public Library Service in Montgomery, serving as the state's chief librarian. A local segregationist newspaper objected to a children's book in the library's holdings, and the concern caught the ear of a pro-segregation state senator named E.O. Eddins. The picture book, "The Rabbits' Wedding" by Garth Williams, portrays the frolicsome friendship and gentle marriage between a white rabbit and a black rabbit. The senator wanted the book taken off of the shelves; the librarian refused.

Opposites were immediately evident in this slice of American history, and instantly I recognized the building blocks for a play.

-Kenneth Jones, Playwright

All readings take place at the TACT Studio at 900 Broadway Suite 905, with a pre-show reception beginning at 6:30PM and a post-show talkback immediately following.

Performances are free of charge and open to the public, and reservations are required.

Click the link to make your newTACTics reservations!