Freedom's Way Musical
Freedom’s Way, an original musical inspired by the stories of Nahum Hazard, Harriet Wilson, the Royall House slaves, Shadrach Minkins, and other area African Americans in Freedom’s Way. The musical play weaves these stories together in a moving vernacular musical set in a pre-Civil War era. Composed and compiled by Dillon Bustin using his own research and some original compositions the musical recreates events of that remarkable time in American history when slavery was illegal in some places, but runaway slaves were considered the property of their slave owners. The story line combines the Story of Nahum (Compiled by Betsi Tennessee, Freedom’s Way publication, Tracing a History of Black Life in America) with the story of Harriet Adams Wilson and others and imagines them as meeting and interacting with each other.
Consultants on the musical included Hazard family descendents, Betsi Tennessee, Sharon Chandler, choristers from Atlantic Union College Chorus, area musicians and actors and Jermaine Robinson of Sight and Sound Productions in Leominster. A partial performance was staged in November of 2008. The goal of Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area is a production to be trouped to regional towns.
We are currently seeking funds to complete this project.