Freedom Summer, a suspenseful play by Toby Armour, takes its name from the now-famous civil rights campaign in June 1964, when a cohort of mostly northern college students attempted to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi. Police, white citizens' councils and the KKK used arrests, arson and murder to oppose the project. This play is inspired by the playwright's firsthand experiences in the campaign as a civil rights worker and reflects the excruciating stresses of the time. It centers on two young women who are thrown together by chance as volunteers in the effort. Joan Kane directs a cast of six.
Sylvie, a Jewish girl from up North, knows too little of the evil she is facing. Terry, African-American and raised in Mississippi, perhaps knows too much. They struggle together, facing danger and disappointment, discovering some old fashioned home truths and unearthing some well-kept political secrets. The biggest difference between the two is that Sylvie can leave any time and return to a safe life up North. Terry must remain in Mississippi with a target on her back and live under the threat that her family's house will be burned when the KKK comes looking for her.
