By R.N. Sandberg
Runtime: 50-60 minutes
Cast: 3M, 2F with doubling
Ages: 10+
Commissioned by the American Repertory Theatre and developed at the Kennedy Center’s New Visions/New Voices
The play tells the true story of Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett), whose case challenging Massachusetts’ slavery laws helped change the course of history. When Bett, the black “servant” of Colonel Ashley, an American Revolution leader, is accidentally hit by Ashley’s wife Hannah, she goes to Theodore Sedgwick, Ashley’s friend and compatriot, and asks him to represent her in suing Ashley for her freedom. Bett, Ashley, Hannah, Sedgwick and his wife Pamela all must face what family, equality, independence, and courage truly mean.