JimmyLee performances scheduled March 2-4 at Judson College

Judson College will present three performances of JimmyLee, the Civil Rights-era drama, on March 2-4 in Alumnae Auditorium on the Judson College campus in Marion.

JimmyLee will open with two performances Thursday, March 2 at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., followed by a final Alumnae Auditorium performance Friday night, March 3 at 6:00 p.m.  A fourth performance will be given 6:00 p.m. Saturday March 4 during the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee at the School of Discovery, 400 Washington Street, Selma, Ala.

The play is set during the voting rights movement and portrays events leading up to the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a 26-year old activist who participated in a February 1965 voting rights demonstration in Marion, Alabama. When the demonstration was interrupted by a city-wide blackout and Alabama state troopers, Jackson was shot as he attempted to protect his mother and grandfather. His death on February 26, 1965 sparked the Selma to Montgomery March and hastened the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

JimmyLee is written and directed by Dr. Billie Jean Young, who is Artist-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Fine and Performing Arts at Judson, her alma mater. In addition to her role as playwright and author, Young is also an actress, speaker, activist, and MacArthur Fellow. JimmyLee, which premiered in 2009, is in its 11th production. For more information about Young or her work, visit her website at billiejeanyoung.com.

The public is invited to the four performances of JimmyLee in Marion and Selma. Admission is $5.00.

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