The Coterie Opens 2014-15 Season with ROSA PARKS AND THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT, 9/23-10/19

The Coterie opens its 2014/2015 Season with Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a drama that interweaves the compelling true story of Rosa Parks with dynamic and uplifting songs from the period. Directed by Brad Shaw, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott will be performed live on stage September 23 - October 19, 2014.

Each performance of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott will be followed by a free, post-performance event. After select weekend performances, audiences will be treated to hear members of the Kansas City Boys Choir and Kansas City Girls Choir perform the world premiere of "Rosa," a new composition composed by 2014 Rockhurst High School graduate, 17 year-old Ralvell Rogers II, under the musical direction of Ah'Lee E. Robinson. All other performances will be followed by an interactive forum, devised by Laurie Brooks, that will delve into themes addressed in the play, such as community leadership and strategic thinking.

In 1955, when Rosa Parks, a black, upstanding citizen of the community, refuses to give up her seat to a white man, she is jailed, giving the black community of Montgomery, AL, an opportunity to stage a boycott to protest bus segregation. A young, new pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is selected as the leader of the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization that will lead the boycott. With keen intensity and uplifting songs of the period, a dynamic cast reveals the compelling true story that sparked a movement 60 years ago.

Originally written for and produced by the St. Louis Black Repertory Company, Sue Greenberg's Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott goes beyond the precedent-setting protest by offering an intimate look into the decisions and motivations of many of the key players behind the boycott. At the same time, it incorporates music of the period, including many civil rights songs, which are given the gospel treatment by director Shaw and the soaring vocals of the cast.

Along with Rosa Parks (vividly portrayed by Antonia Washington), the play also features Martin Luther King, Jr. (Frank Oakley III) as a young 24 year-old minister initially reluctant to embrace his own dynamic leadership; E.D. Nixon (Ron Lackey), the pullman car porter whose activism helped inspire Parks, King, and others; Mrs. Virginia Durr (Cindy K. Siefers), a good friend of Rosa Parks who proved the movement had supporters in the white community. Also essential to the true story are Rosa's grandmother (Sherri Roulette-Mosley), Coretta Scott King (Shon Ruffin), and the Bus Driver (Michael Ott).

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott will be best appreciated by adults, teens and young people aged ten and older. The production is funded in part by the Missouri Arts Council, ArtsKC Fund, and Theater League.

The artistic and production company includes Brad Shaw (director, music director, and costume designer), Trevor Frederiksen (set designer, in an arrangement with UMKC Theatre), Art Kent (resident lighting designer), John Story (sound designer), William J. Christie (resident production stage manager and properties), Scott Hobart (resident technical director), Brant Challacombe (musical consultant), and Chloé N. Robbins-Anderson (production assistant).

The Coterie, now in its 36th Season and named "One of the Five Best Theaters for Young Audiences in the U.S." by TIME magazine, will perform Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott September 23- October 19, 2014, in The Coterie Theatre, located on level one of Crown Center Shops in Kansas City, MO. Press Night will be held on Friday, September 26, 2014, at 7:00 p.m.

Individual Tickets: Tickets are $10.00 for youth under 18, students, and seniors age 60 and older; and $15.00 for adults.

Group Pricing: The Coterie offers groups of 20 or more a special preview rate of $5.00 per person the first week of the run, September 23-28. After preview week, groups pay only $5.50 per person on weekdays and $6.50 per person on weekends (Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays).

Subscriptions: In lieu of season subscriptions, The Coterie offers the Spotlight Club Pass, which works like season tickets without committing to a set schedule. Spotlight Club members pay $90.00 for a flexible pass that includes 10 tickets - a savings of 40% off individual ticket prices - that can be used for any show or combination of shows in the 2014/2015 Season.

All tickets and Spotlight Club Passes are on sale now and may be purchased by calling The Coterie's box office at (816) 474-6552, dropping by the box office on level one of the Crown Center Shops, or by visiting www.thecoterie.org.

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