Ruby: The Story of Ruby Bridges

By Christina M. Ham  Music by Gary Rue
February 14- March 1, 2020

Ruby Bridges was only 6 years old when the Civil Rights movement came hammering at her door, making her the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. On the heels of Brown v. Board of Education, schools were ordered to integrate with “all deliberate speed,” and in 1960, Ruby became one of six black children to integrate all-white schools in the city. Ruby’s integration placed undue pressure on her family—almost tearing them apart—as they watched helplessly while federal marshals escorted young Ruby to school. With songs inspired by The Shirelles, Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson, this musical explores a little girl’s unbeatable courage in the face of adversity as she helped to lead the Civil Rights movement up the front steps and into the classrooms of an elementary school in New Orleans.