The Burnin’ is an a cappella musical inspired by two nightclub tragedies; one in 1940 in Natchez, Mississippi (the Rhythm Night Club fire) and one in Chicago, Illinois in 2003 (a stampede at the city’s popular E3 nightclub). Occurring decades and miles apart, all of the victims in both deadly tragedies were young members of the African American community. The piece examines the meanings of community-based identities, family/relationships, performances of the “self” and what happens when identity politics play out under circumstances of extreme trauma.
