Liberty Live; a new partnership between Premiere Stages and the Liberty Hall Museum, will feature a production of a new play that celebrates New Jersey’s history and profound culture.

From November 13 to 15, 2015, a staged reading known as “My Lord, What A Night” will for the first time ever, be publicly read to students. It will take place in the Little Theatre in the Miron Student Center (MSC) starting on Friday November 13 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15 at 3 p.m. The play will receive a full production at Liberty Hall Museum in October 2016. Admission is free for all Kean University students.

Free tours of the museum will also be given to those who attend on the weekend. “It is our hope that the tours of the museum will excite our patrons' curiosity about the past, while the performance itself will open a dialogue about how that history relates to the world we live in today,” said Heather Kelley, Director of Audience Services for Premiere Stages.

Based on actual events, the story is centered upon racism and segregation. In 1937, Marian Anderson, one of the most celebrated and legendary singers of the twentieth century, gave a concert in Princeton, New Jersey. After it ended, she was later refused to stay at a room at Nassau Inn because of her skin color. Civil rights supporter Albert Einstein learns about her story and offers her to stay at his home for the night. As their relationship with each other develop, they soon begin to become two of the most prominent figures of the century as they passionately fight for racial equality. Fueled by a common bond against racial injustice, Einstein’s and Anderson's unexpected friendship lasted for the rest of their lives.

Every two years, a New Jersey writer is assigned to create a brand new play about an event that happened somewhere in the state. “On a broader thematic note, stories of racial inequality are all too common, both historically and in present-day society,” said Christine Scarfuto, producing associate and resident dramaturg of the museum. “These stories need to be told to help heal the racial schism in our country.”