SACRAMENTO -We’ve been bruised and we’ve been battered, but those who have inflicted the pain have never been able to shake our innate belief that we’ll rise above it. That message is driven home in the powerful musical “We Come From Greatness: Legacy 2” being staged at the Guild Theater by the Images Theater Company.

It’s the last weekend to catch the show with final performances March 2-4. “We Come From Greatness” features a number of vignettes, poetry and prose. The vignettes are based on moments or individuals throughout Black History. There are moments that will evoke tears, anger and laughter. There are, of course, some uncomfortable topics like slavery and the rape of Black women along the Middle Passage and the practice of White women fornicating with Black male slaves, who could be killed for the act, even if they were helpless to prevent it.

The cast includes Beverly Coleman, Elaine Douglas, Chesa Ellison, Voress Franklin, Ja’Net Wallace, Quintina Watts, Marcia Lewis, Bill Miller, Derrick Miller, Delaire Doyle, Johnny Collins, and Zarati De Paz.

Standout moments include Ellison’s performance as Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old slain in Money, Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a White woman. The scene, set like Till’s funeral, provides the backdrop for Ellison’s powerful portrayal of a woman who showed awesome strength in the time of personal tragedy and racial brutality. Bill Miller also has a showstopper with his performance of the song “I’m A Man” inspired by the motto Black men adopted during the Civil Rights Movement.

A stellar cast and original music by Charles Cooper help provide an uplifting theater experience. “We Come From Greatness” is written and directed by Lisa Lacy with choreography by Lynnis Woods-Mullins, who’s work especially shines in a scene highlighting musical icons such as Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway.

“We Come From Greatness” runs Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors over age 65 and students with I.D. and $15 for children. For more information, call (916) 428-1441 or visit HYPERLINK “http://www.imagestheater.org” .

The Guild Theater is located at 2828 35th Street. Tickets also available at Underground Books, located adjacent to the theater.

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By: Genoa Barrow
Senior Staff Writer