Brynn Williams and Anthony Chatmon II to Star in Reading of Freedom Riders

Broadway vets Brynn Williams (SpongeBob SquarePants), Anthony Chatmon II (Hadestown), and Deon'te Goodman (Hamilton) will star in an online reading of Richard Allen and Taran Gray's award-winning Freedom Riders: The Civil Rights Musical on July 10 at 8pm ET.

Winners of the 2016 Beta Award and 2017's Outstanding Music and Cultural Impact Awards from the New York Musical Festival, Freedom Riders: The Civil Rights Musical tells the story of the real-life Freedom Riders who challenged the status quo of the 1960s by riding interstate buses in mixed racial groups through the South challenging local laws and customs that enforced segregation. Based on the lives of Diane Nash and Congressman John Lewis, among others, Freedom Riders is a portrait of American race relations and a testament to the power of nonviolent direct action in uncovering injustice.

Williams, Chatmon, and Goodman will reprise their performances as Diane Nash, John Lewis, and Bernard Lafayette, which they played at NYMF in 2017. They'll be joined by fellow NYMF cast members Meagan Flint, Ciarán McCarthy, Michael William Nigro, Scott Redmond, Nygel Robinson, Don Rey, and Joy Yandell, alongside Kevin "Blax" Burroughs, Tyla Collier, Keith Jefferson, Payson Lewis, Eboni Muse, Leonard Patton, Ebony Pullum, Clayton Snyder, Erin Vaderhyde, and Joy Yandell.

The show will be directed by Richard Allen with music direction by Steven M. Cuevas. The NYMF production was staged by Whitney White.

Freedom Riders: The Civil Rights Musical will be part of a four-night festival of Allen and Gray's work, which also includes their musicals Legendary (July 7), Bayard (July 8), and Walt and Roy (July 9).

Tickets are available for purchase here.