By Romulus Linney — Based on the novel by Ernest J. Gaines

Previews: September 10–14, 2005
Runs: September 15–Oct. 9, 2005

A Lesson Before Dying has been adapted for the stage by Romulus Linney from the award winning novel by Ernest J. Gaines. Set in the segregated society of Louisiana in 1948, it is the powerful story of a young Black man wrongly accused and placed on death row. Like the novel, the play engages an audience in what Gaines describes as the test of “grace under pressure.” He asserts, “Can you tell me a better example of grace under pressure than our people for the past three hundred years?” The play dramatizes the power of grace and resistance in the life of a young man and a community galvanized around the cause of teaching him how to die with dignity and reclaim his life.

Rating: PG — Parental discretion on content.

Download Playbill
(PDF format, 2M)