The Election That Changed the Game
Written by Pearl Cleage
Directed by Seema Sueko
Featuring an All-DMV Local Cast
September 22 – October 15, 2023
Tickets on Sale Now at www.fords.org
Playwright, author, activist and Atlanta poet laureate Pearl Cleage, who was Maynard’s speechwriter and Director of Communications, says that her own experiences of the moment were life-changing, as she had an up-close seat at a historic moment. She instantly knew she wanted to write about Maynard when commissioned for The Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commissions, through which this play received a developmental workshop and reading in January-February 2023.
This timely and poignant world premiere production is part of Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commissions ongoing program. Playwright Pearl Cleage explores the election of Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first Black mayor. Cleage sets the play in present-day Atlanta, but soon the story travels back 50 years as citizens of the city recollect and reflect upon the significance of the once-in-a-lifetime election that turned Atlanta into a progressive example of the New South. Cleage’s unique theatrical voice turns Atlanta into a full-blooded character while allowing her audience to feel what it was like to be part of a true historic moment in the Southern capital city. As we mark the 50th anniversary of Jackson’s election of a lifetime, explore Cleage’s evocative depiction of this monumental moment, directed by Seema Sueko (Silent Sky).
