We’re hearing great things about the James Baldwin play, “Blues for Mister Charlie,” being staged this weekend at the University of Richmond’s Alice Jepson theatre.

One of our contributing editors says its “amazing” and “intense” and by all means, people should get out to see it this weekend.

“Blues for Mister Charlie” is Baldwin’s 1964 story loosely based on the murder of Emmett Till before the Civil Rights movement began. “In his award-winning play, Baldwin turns a murder and its aftermath into an inquest in which even the most well-intentioned whites are implicated –– and in which even a killer receives his share of compassion,” reads a description on the Modlin Center website.

The play is a collaboration between Virginia Commonwealth University Theatre and the University of Richmond Department of Theatre and Dance, in association with the African American Repertory Theatre and the Conciliation Project. It is being co-directed in Richmond by Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, an associate professor of theater at VCU, and Chuck Mike, an associate professor of theater at the University of Richmond.

According to the Modlin Center website, “the production is a narrative to engage in a broader community dialogue around issues of racial justice, economic freedom, family, and faith. Surrounding the production of Blues for Mr. Charlie will be Community Forums and Public Dialogues around the play’s content.”

To learn more about the production, read this story in Urban Views.

The play is being staged at the Alice Jepson Theatre at the Modlin Center on Friday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee on Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $5 to $10, for more info, go here.