Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts Students Amaze with Frederick The Musical

Last week, Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts students presented four performances of Frederick The Musical. Attendees were blown away by the acting, the singing, the music, the choreography, and the story of one of America’s greatest statesman, orators, and civil rights leaders, Frederick Douglass. MTEA was thrilled to document the 11am Thursday, May 15th performance. A final encore performance will take place on Thursday, May 22 – 6:00pm. Get your tickets today!

Roosevelt is proud to be a Turnaround Arts Program. Turnaround Arts, a program of the Kennedy Center, empowers high-needs schools with innovative arts, dance, theater and music programs, arts integration across subject areas, arts resources, musical instruments, and high-profile artist mentors as a proven strategy to help address broader school challenges and close the achievement gap.

The school released the following statement about the musical:

“In 2017 FREDERICK was introduced as a five-minute musical piece based on the life and legacy of Frederick Douglass, written to commemorate his 2018 200th anniversary.

In 2018 a cast of students from Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts in Milwaukee, WI were selected to perform the lyrics and choreography. We share that story and the natural progression to developing a full-length production here RMSA’s FREDERICK .

The musical is drawn from the narrative cornerstones of the original piece. Frederick elevates key moments of Frederick Douglass’ remarkable story, the incredible strength of his mother, and the actions of his wife that led to his freedom and his place in the story of America as the father of the Civil Rights movement.

This story is told by high school drama students who play the historical figures of the story as they rehearse with their director for the final time before opening night of the show. Through this experience, the students discover connections to their own lives by telling the story of Douglass’s life.

The Musical is done befittingly through the creative conduit of the Black American innovations of hip-hop, soul, and R&B music.

Frederick highlights the illusiveness of freedom and the persistence of its pursuit, while celebrating gumption in the throes of tragedy and injustice.

Book and Music by Ja’Rahn Leveston

Lyrics by Ja’Rahn Leveston and Gregory Lathe

View our full photo album:

Watch the performance here: