Award-Winning Play ‘The Meeting’ Staged at University of Idaho
March 13, 2023
MOSCOW, Idaho — The award-winning play “The Meeting,” by Jeff Stetson, comes to University of Idaho for four performances March 31-April 2.
Presented and produced by Idaho Repertory Theatre (IRT), “The Meeting” depicts the imagined meeting of two civil rights activists: Malcom X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Showtimes:
- 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1
- 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 1 and 2
All performances are located at the Forge Theater, 404 Sweet Ave., in Moscow. Tickets available online are free for U of I students and $5-25 for the general public.
Described as “an unforgettable evening of drama” by The New York Post, “The Meeting” is co-sponsored by the University of Idaho Black/African American Cultural Center, the Africana Studies Program and the Department of History, with funding from the IRT Endowment and the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences.
"To most people, the meeting of these two iconic leaders represents a conflict of personalities, revolutionary ideas and very different methods,” said Robert Caisley, executive producer of IRT. “However, this play brilliantly humanizes both men, and offers a far more nuanced view of their differences — and similarities — in ways that are sure to surprise you."
Guest artist and Director Baron Kelly, a four-time Fulbright Scholar and distinguished professor of theatre and drama at University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the hour-long play illustrates how each man was bigger than their symbolic parts. Through radically differing philosophies, both men are revealed and bond over their shared pain.
Martin Luther King, Jr, played by Tyler Madden of North Carolina; and Malcom X, played by James Stringer, Jr., from the University of Virginia, debate their varying approaches to the same grave social problems — both prepared to die for their beliefs but neither aware of how soon assassins' bullets would come. Joining them on stage is E.M. Harris of Baltimore, Maryland, playing Malcom X’s bodyguard, Rashad.
ASSETS AVAILABLE: Photos of Kelly, Madden, Stringer Jr. and Harris are available for download and use in an online gallery.
Media Contact:
Kelly O’Neill
Communications Specialist, Department of Theatre Arts & Lionel Hampton School of Music
208-885-6465
koneill@uidaho.edu
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho, home of the Vandals, is Idaho’s land-grant, national research university. From its residential campus in Moscow, U of I serves the state of Idaho through educational centers in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Idaho Falls, nine research and Extension centers, plus Extension offices in 42 counties. Home to nearly 11,000 students statewide, U of I is a leader in student-centered learning and excels at interdisciplinary research, service to businesses and communities, and in advancing diversity, citizenship and global outreach. U of I competes in the Big Sky and Western Athletic conferences. Learn more at uidaho.edu.