about the show
The voice of Frederick Douglass shook the rafters of slaveholding America. Now his voice hits the American stage in a stirring new musical. Infused with a thrilling blend of Gospel and Broadway, DOUGLASS sings forth the most compelling story in all of American history… how a young boy, assigned to a life of slavery, defied his abusers time and time again… to emerge as the greatest orator of his day, a voice that stunned the world with its eloquence and ushered in the Civil Rights movement.
DOUGLASS The Musical pulses with the soul-stirring makings of a great novel… tragedy, triumph, struggle, romance, defeat, resilience, hope. There’s only one difference… it’s not a novel. It’s the real life story of Frederick Douglass, an historical luminary whose time has come.
WHO’S WHO OF DOUGLASS THE MUSICAL
Frederick Douglass
From slave to statesman, the most consequential black voice of the 19th century and father of the Civil Rights movement.
Anna Murray
The woman Frederick loved. She had dreams… then sacrificed them all as his cause became hers.
Edward Covey
Sadistic slavemaster who Frederick dared to defy.
William Lloyd Garrison
Fiery, impassioned founder of the Abolition Movement. He took Frederick under his wing… but couldn't let go.
John Brown.
Radical abolitionist. He convinced Frederick that violence was a necessary means to end slavery. Then he went a step too far.
creative team
RUTH FENNESSY MOSS, Book Writer and Lyricist
A native New Yorker, Ruth graduated from Stony Brook University and soon became a copywriter at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample Advertising. By her early 30’s, she was a Senior Vice President, responsible for TV, radio and print for 16 national brands and supervised a large team of writers and art directors. Ruth’s scripts, songs and jingles were performed by Candice Bergen, Dick Clark, Richie Havens, Jerry Orbach and Barbara Eden, among others.
On a parallel course, Ruth wrote several revues and children’s shows under the direction of Joe Sutherin at The St. Bart’s Playhouse on Park Avenue — including a Christmas musical LOVE THY ELF with composer Susan Elliott, which was produced on the national children’s theater circuit. Ruth studied acting with Earl Hyman (HB Studio), play writing (HB Studio), book writing with Aaron Frankel (BMI) and lyric writing with Lee Adams — in addition to singing, dancing and acting in several musicals at St. Bart’s.
Ruth’s zest for musical theater was inherited from her parents who performed in off-Broadway productions for decades. TV was rarely allowed… instead, the walls of their East 14th Street apartment resounded daily with great show tunes. Similarly, she credits her way with words to a deep heritage of Irish wit and lyricism that was passed across the dinner table with the lamb stew.
Ruth lives in Westchester County, N.Y. with her husband, Chet Moss. The Mosses have one daughter, Jenna, who is the light of their lives. Ruth is a member of ASCAP and The Dramatists Guild of America.
SHELTON BECTON, Composer
Shelton L. Becton was born in Beaver Creek Township, North Carolina. The son of a Baptist minister, Shelton fell in love with the piano at age four, taught himself to play, and accompanied his first church choir at age seven. As he grew he continued to sharpen and refine his skills, later attending Howard University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree.
As music director, conductor and arranger, Shelton’s Broadway credits include THE WIZ, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, THE COLOR PURPLE, MEMPHIS, BABY IT’S YOU, LADY DAY at EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL, SHUFFLE ALONG directed by George C. Wolfe and CARMEN JONES directed by John Doyle. In 2017, he made his West End debut, recreating the role he originated on Broadway, that of Jimmy Powers, at the Wyndham Theatre’s production of LADY DAY with Audra McDonald.
Shelton’s uplifting gospel compositions have been featured by prestigious choirs such as the Eastern High School Choir of Washington, D.C., the Riverside Church Inspirational Choir of New York, the Morehouse and Spellman Choirs of Atlanta, and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. His work has been performed on The MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE, THE COSBY SHOW with Phylicia Rashad, THE TONIGHT SHOW, and PBS’s THREE MO’ TENORS. They have been recorded on Roberta Flack’s CHRISTMAS ALBUM, as well as the Metropolitan Opera’s Denyce Graves’ album of Spirituals, ANGELS WATCHING OVER ME.
