NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Nashville Children's Theatre is partnering up with Vanderbilt for a special dedication to a civil rights pioneer and local sports legend, Perry Wallace. It's titled Strong Inside and will be on display for the world to see starting this week.
The directors of the presentation say it’s an amazing Nashville story for families to learn about, because they don’t frequently get to see hometown heroes on the stage.
Wallace is a Vanderbilt alum and sports and civil rights trailblazer, who was the first African American to play basketball in the SEC in 1966. It'll detail the often-brutal physical and verbal abuse he endured during road games as well as the social isolation he felt on campus.
The play will be licensed which allows theaters across the country to tell Wallace’s story. During the Nashville run of the production nearly 6,400 students in Middle Tennessee will experience Wallace’s story in addition to a home school and public audience of nearly 2,000 viewers. The production is a part of the Nashville Children’s Theatre “Courageously Me!” theme for the season. The theater is teaming up with Metro Nashville Public Schools to allow all sixth graders to see this production.
It starts September 7th and runs through September 26th. Tickets are on sale now, and members of the Vanderbilt community can receive a 50% discount to select performances. Vanderbilt community members can receive the discount for the Sept. 9, Sept. 23 and Sept. 24 performances while tickets are available. This is a world premiere, so the Nashville Children's Theatre and Vanderbilt are hoping this story of perseverance and triumph inspire people across the globe.
