'North' at Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College

“North” is a moving story that explores the multi-faceted reality of Black life during the antebellum period, and which aims to bring out the full range of experiences of freedom seekers. While acknowledging the realities of slavery, the narrative and original musical compositions by Ashli St. Armant explore themes of optimism, bravery, playfulness, wonder, suspense and mystery. The musical is intended for intergenerational audiences, ages 10 and up.

Inspired by true accounts of escape through the Underground Railroad, the story begins in Vacherie, Louisiana, in the middle of the 19th century where Lawrence, a precocious teenage boy, and his cautious mother, Minnie, are making the best of their lives, enslaved on Mr. Newsome’s plantation – the only reality they’ve ever known.