School offers tribute to King

Brookwood Elementary School fifth-graders will present the school's 15th annual production of I Remember Martin Luther King Jr. on Thursday.

Billed as a musical celebration of freedom, the show includes spirituals, and patriotic and contemporary music. The drama is fun, factual and educational and includes video, lighting, movement, singing and drama, said music specialist Johnny Carr.

"Martin Luther King is not a star in this thing," Carr said. "It's told from the point of view of his teachers, his mother and father - the people who knew him. It's a memorial service, but it's very upbeat, focusing on the positive changes Martin Luther King made. It ends with a promise of a future with a new generation of children who are filling those shoes."

There will be two shows, at 2:15 and 7 p.m. The public is invited to both shows, and admission is free.

The 90-member troupe will take their act on the road Friday, at Warren County High School.

"We've had nothing but positive affirmation over the past 15 years," said Carr, whose classes have in the past performed the drama at the veteran's hospital and local schools in recognition of Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. "This year, Warren County High School wanted us to perform there. It's an honor for a high school to call and ask an elementary school to come perform."

Most of the cast will be dressed in black and white. Also, there are appearances by such colorful and historic characters as Henry David Thoreau and Mohandas K. Gandhi.