Review: TIRED SOULS: THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT at Children's Theatre Of Charlotte

TIRED SOULS: THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

Children’s Theatre Of Charlotte presented Tired Souls: The Montgomery Bus Boycott.  This historical boycott will always be remembered as the incident that introduced the world to a charismatic Baptist preacher named, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It is credited with birthing the Civil Rights Movement.  Many of us are aware of the segregated bus incident that occurred, on December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat at the front to move to the back of the bus in order for a White rider to sit.  But how many of you are familiar with the name Claudette Colvin?  She actually experience a similar incident when she also refused to give up her seat on a bus, prior to Rosa Parks. 

Well, all of these historic facts associated with the Montgomery Bus Boycott are uniquely and creatively presented in Tired Souls by an acclaimed storyteller/playwright named Mike Wiley.  Mike randomly called patrons (adults and children) out of the audience to portray history-makers that were not as familiar or popular as Dr. King and Rosa Parks such as E.D. Nixon (the lawyer that bailed Rosa Parks out of jail) and Jo Ann Robinson, the President of the Women’s Political Council (WPC), who organized the boycott.

Mike’s wit and engaging personality provides a clever way to raise awareness and educate children in a very entertaining way.  The patrons eagerly took center stage to experience their “few minutes of fame”.  This is my second time witnessing Mike’s performance; I saw him perform the Jackie Robinson story as well.  He was just as engaging then. 

It amazes me that he can hold the attention span of an audience as long as he does with  no additional actors.  In Tired Souls, the set consisted of a red bench, backdropped with a picture and quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He also utilized voice recordings of Dr. King to provide vocal expression. 

I must say, this on-stage presentation was less visual and entertaining as  the full-scale productions I’m accustomed to, yet it was an entertaining way to end my evening. Thanks, Mr. Wiley!