In spring, 2011, Black American singers join the Palestine National Theatre in Jerusalem to rehearse Clayborn Carson's play about Martin Luther King Jr. The play's director, Kamel El Basha, makes changes to dramatize Palestinian rejection of American messages. Choir members immerse themselves in the reality of occupation; rehearsals succeed. After opening night, collaboration creates compromise. With commentary from El Basha, Carson, choir members, and the actors, we follow the troupe on tour of the West Bank, starting in Jenin, where the magnetic Juliano Mer-Khamis runs Freedom Theatre. On the day of their final performance, tragedy hits. An epilogue brings down the curtain.
—<jhailey@hotmail.com>