I Dream is a fully through-composed opera by Douglas Tappin (librettist, lyricist, composer), based on the life of Martin Luther King Jr..
The world premiere of this Rhythm and Blues Opera opened in July 2010 on the Alliance Stage of the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia. [1]
With choreography by Dawn Axam, and designs by Kat Conley (set), Joseph Futral (lighting), Shilla Benning (costumes), and Bobby Johnston (sound).
The producers were Dej Mahoney, Cedric Perrier, Tim Bowen, and Douglas Tappin. [1]
The cast included:
I Dream opened to mostly positive reviews from both the press and those involved with the civil rights movement. RollingOut.com said: "The life of Dr. King as chronicled in the stage musical I Dream, is right on time as a reminder of what the fight was for. The dynamically talented cast delivered stirring performances to move audience members through each riveting scene." [2] Creative Loafing reported that "Tappin's hugely ambitious world premiere follows the example of Broadway's big, rock-influenced musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Les Miserables." [3] The Huffington Post stated: "[The show brought] some of the heartiest former Civil Rights activists in the house to tears, before raising them to their feet at the finale for, perhaps, the greatest standing ovation the show will ever receive." [4]
Nominated in 10 categories for Atlanta's 2009/2010 Suzi Bass Award, [5] I Dream won in the "Outstanding World Premiere" (Play or Musical) category.
A concept album of I Dream entitled I Dream (The Concept Recording) was recorded in 2015, featuring Quentin Darrington as "Martin" and Avery Sunshine as "Coretta" - released for digital download and streaming, including on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. [6]
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. He was the son of early civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Sr..
Coretta Scott King was an American author, activist, civil rights leader, and the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. An advocate for African-American equality, she was a leader for the civil rights movement in the 1960s. King was also a singer who often incorporated music into her civil rights work. King met her husband while attending graduate school in Boston. They both became increasingly active in the American civil rights movement.
Dexter Scott King is an American civil rights activist and the second son of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. King is also the brother of Martin Luther King III, Bernice King, and Yolanda King.
Jasmine Guy is an American actress, director, singer and dancer. Guy is known for her role as Dina in the 1988 film School Daze and as Whitley Gilbert-Wayne on the NBC The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, which originally ran from 1987 to 1993. Guy won six consecutive NAACP Image Awards from 1990 through 1995 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on the show. She is also known as Roxy Harvey on Dead Like Me and as Sheila "Grams" Bennet on The Vampire Diaries.
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park covers about 35 acres (0.14 km2) and includes several buildings in Atlanta, Georgia related to the life and work of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Within the park is his boyhood home and the original Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church where King was baptized and both his father Martin Luther King Sr. and he were pastors.
Martin Luther King III is an American human rights advocate. As the oldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, King served as the 4th President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1997 to 2004.
Alveda Celeste King is an American activist, author, and former state representative for the 28th District in the Georgia House of Representatives.
Bernice Albertine King is an American minister and the second youngest child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She was five years old when her father was assassinated. In her adolescence, King chose to work towards becoming a minister after having a breakdown from watching a documentary about her father. King was 17 when she was invited to speak at the United Nations. Twenty years after her father was assassinated, she preached her trial sermon, inspired by her parents' activism.
Once on This Island is a one-act musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. Based on the 1985 novel My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl by Rosa Guy, it is set in the French Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. It concerns a peasant girl on a tropical island, who uses the power of love to bring people together of different social classes.
Yolanda Denise King was an African American activist and first-born child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She was also known for her artistic and entertainment endeavors and public speaking. Her childhood experience was greatly influenced by her father's highly public and influential activism.
Moneta J. Sleet Jr. was an American press photographer best known for his work as a staff photographer for Ebony magazine. In 1969 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for his photograph of Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, at her husband's funeral. Sleet was the first African-American man to win the Pulitzer, and the first African American to win the award for journalism. He died of cancer in 1996 at the age of 70.
Ashley F. Bryan is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Most of his subjects are from the African American experience. He was U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006 and he won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his contribution to American children's literature in 2009. Ashley Bryan's Freedom Over Me was short-listed for the 2016 Kirkus Prize and received a Newbery Honor.
English Avenue and Vine City are two adjacent and closely linked neighborhoods of Atlanta, Georgia. Together the neighborhoods make up neighborhood planning unit L. The two neighborhoods are frequently cited together in reference to shared problems and to shared redevelopment schemes and revitalization plans.
The arts in Atlanta are well-represented, with a particularly prominent presence in music, fine art, and theater.
Andrew Aydin is an American comics writer, known as the Digital Director & Policy Advisor to Georgia congressman John Lewis, and co-author, with Lewis, of Lewis' #1 New York Times bestselling autobiographical graphic novel trilogy March—with Representative John Lewis, which debuted in 2013 by Top Shelf Productions.
Denise Nicole White, known professionally as AverySunshine, is an American singer, songwriter and pianist.
Selma is a 2014 historical drama film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb. It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches initiated and directed by James Bevel and led by Martin Luther King Jr., Hosea Williams, and John Lewis. The film stars actors David Oyelowo as King, Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Tim Roth as George Wallace, Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King, and Common as Bevel.
The history of the 1954 to 1968 American civil rights movement has been depicted and documented in film, song, theater, television, and the visual arts. These presentations add to and maintain cultural awareness and understanding of the goals, tactics, and accomplishments of the people who organized and participated in this nonviolent movement.
This is a list of memorials to Martin Luther King Jr.
Dej Mahoney, born Ayodeji Mahoney, is a British legal and business consultant in the entertainment and related sectors, with more than 30 years' experience within the music and media industries. His career has encompassed being an entertainment lawyer and a producer, former Vice-President of Business Affairs at Sony Music, as well as founding director since 2001 of London-based organisation All Our Business (AOB). In 2020 he was appointed non-executive chair of the production music company West One Music Group.