Instructor’s play premieres Thursday

Diana Luehm has a story she feels everyone should know.

The English instructor and playwright has been writing “Liberating Harriet,” for two years and will unveil her creation Thursday.

Premiering at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium, the play is a dramatic love story about a family born into slavery and their struggle to be free.

“It’s really exciting to see one of my plays come to life,” Luehm said.

Performances will be held Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium. Tickets cost $5 for students and $10 for the general public.

Next month, the production will travel to Harpers Ferry, W. Va. for six days to perform at the Apollo Civic Theatre for the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s raid.

In the fact-based play, John Brown, an abolitionist, plans on freeing slaves from their owners by organizing a raid at Harpers Ferry.

One slave, Shields, will stop at nothing to free his family and joins Brown in fighting for freedom. This raid lead to the start of the Civil War.

Flint senior Marceil Davis played Shields and said that many people will enjoy the play’s action, romance and comic relief.

“Its got a real good message,” he said. “I think people will laugh, cry and question what they believe.”

When writing the play, Luehm studied history in great detail and said she took ideas from 15 books.

“This is a true story, hardly anything is made up,” she said. “It’s a great story that will keep you engaged and is a piece of history every student should know.”

Croswell junior Sean Hammersburg plays John Brown’s son Owen, and said his character is something of a “naysayer.”

“I’m the loud argumentative one,” he said. “Owen is always trying to convince people to see it his way.”

Davis said the play, which is based on firsthand accounts and historical biographies, offers an alternative look to the “insane John Brown” sometimes found in history books.

“John Brown was a man of faith and was following God,” he said. “He felt God wanted him to do the Harpers Ferry raid, and that was the catalyst for the Civil War and ended slavery.”

Luehm said the cast did an excellent job of bringing her first full-length play to life.

“I don’t feel like I have a single weak link, they’re all phenomenal actors,” she said. “Playwright Arthur Miller said we should write big world changing plays that make a difference, and that’s what this play does.”

Tickets can be purchased at the Central Box Office in the lower level of the Bovee University Center or by calling 989-774-3000 or 888-CMU-0111.

studentlife@cm-life.com