Information

Show Credits: Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty

Description: DESSA ROSE is a stirring musical drama based on the noted novel by Sherley Anne Williams. Told as an oral history and related by two women, Ruth and Dessa Rose, this powerful tale of an unlikely friendship takes place in 1847, fourteen years before the outbreak of the American Civil War. Based on both fact and fiction, the musical weaves together the stories of two real women, one white and one black, who struggled for different kinds of freedom in an era defined by men. Ruth Sutton is a white woman abandoned by her husband and living on an isolated farm. Dessa Rose is an escaped slave on the run from a bloody slave rebellion, with a newborn infant to protect, who seeks refuge on Ruth's farm. Hidden in this Alabama backwater, the two women's uneasy alliance ultimately transcends any racial barriers as they find the strength to confront the world on their own terms. Their dangerous journey to freedom and self-realization makes for a musical that is by turns comic, tragic, uplifting and inspired.

Variety called it "An absorbing story of two strong women in the pre-civil war south. Played with grit and conviction...beautiful songs, strongly etched characters and soaring emotions--in the story of these proud independent women."

And the London Financial Times said: "The work of Ahrens and Flaherty achieves overwhelming power. The friendship of Dessa Rose and Ruth may not be joined sexually but their friendship is the most affecting love story currently on a New York stage."

To find out how to order CDs in bulk quantity for resale purposes, contact the Marketing Department at MTI via email at marketing@MTIShows.com.

For complete information on this and other Ahrens and Flaherty shows, as well as links to purchase CDs, vocal selections and other publications, please go to www.AhrensandFlaherty.com.