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Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens 
Music by Stephen Flaherty

Based on the novel by Sherley Anne Williams 

Orchestrations by William David Brohn and Christopher Jahnke

STARRING 
Rebecca Eichenberger , Tina Fabrique , Michael Hayden , David Hess , LaChanze , Kecia Lewis , Norm Lewis , William Parry , Soara-Joye Ross , James Stovall , Rachel York , Eric Jordan Young

Based upon the lives of two real women living in the antebellum Deep South, DESSA ROSE explores the fictional meeting of these women and the impact they have on each other. Dessa Rose (LaChanze) is a pregnant slave condemned to death after leading an uprising. Her captors, choosing not to destroy "perfectly good property," delay her sentence and keep Dessa imprisoned until she gives birth. As she awaits her hanging, Dessa is interviewed by Adam Nehemiah (Michael Hayden, of LCT's Henry IV, Far East, and Carousel), who is writing a book on slave rebellions.

Ruth Sutton (Rachel York) is a white woman abandoned by her slave-owner husband on an isolated farm in Northern Alabama. When Dessa and her companions escape, they make their way to Ruth, who has begun to provide sanctuary to fugitive slaves. Initially distrustful of each other, Dessa and Ruth form an unsteady alliance after a bold scheme is devised to win the slaves' freedom by fleeing to the West. Through hardship and humor, the two women slowly become united, discovering greater strength by being together than by being alone.

DESSA ROSE, perhaps Ahrens and Flaherty's most ambitious musical to date, is almost entirely sung through. The score and its extended musical themes reveal the rarely told story of the strong-willed American women from whom our country derives much of its strength, character, and identity. The authors have structured DESSA ROSE as an oral history being passed down from Dessa Rose and Ruth to their children and grandchildren.

AHRENS AND FLAHERTY WEBSITE

1. We Are Descended
   LaChanze, Rachel York, Company
2. Comin' Down The Quarters
   LaChanze, Eric Jordon Young, Company
3. Ol' Banjar
   Eric Jordan Young
4. Oh Slavery Didn't Do Away
   Rachel York, LaChanze, Eric Jordan Young, Tina Fabrique
5. Something Of My Own
   LaChanze
6. Watch You Step, Mr Nehemiah
   Michael Hayden, David Hess
7. Ink
   Michael Hayden, LaChanze
8. Hey...Hey...
   LaChanze, Eric Jordan Young, William Perry, Tina Fabrique
9. You Had No Call To Break That
   Eric Jordan Young, LaChanze, William Parry
10. Why You Kill Him
    Company
11. The Gold Band
    Norm Lewis, Rachel York, LaChanze, Tina Fabrique, Company
12. See Them Stars
    Norm Lewis, LaChanze
13. Little Stars
    Norm Lewis, James Stovall, LaChanze
14. Hey, Pretty Girl
    David Hess, LaChanze, Company
15. The Gold Band (reprise)
    LaChanze, Company
16. Ladies
    Rebecca Eichenberger, Kacia Lewis
17. Bertie's Waltz
    Rachel York, David Hess
18. At The Glen
    Rachel York
19. Good Afternoon, Odessa
    LaChanze, Michael Hayden
20. Observations On The Famed Devil Woman
    Michael Hayden
21. Capture The Girl
    Michael Hayden, LaChanze
22. Janet? Phillip?
    Rachel York
23. The People On Her Place
    LaChanze, Rachel York
24. Miss We Was Only
    Norm Lewis, Rachel York, LaChanze
25. Fly Away
    LaChanze, Michael Hayden, Rebecca Eichenberger, Rachel York, Company
26. That's The First Time
    Michael Hayden, LaChanze
27. I'm Sorry, Master
    Kacia Lewis, Michael Hayden
28. Fly Away (conclusion)
    LaChanze, Norm Lewis, Kacia Lewis, Company
29. Dessa Rose Escapes
    Michael Hayden
30. Terrible
    Michael Hayden, Kacia Lewis, LaChanze, Rachel York, Norm Lewis, James Stovall
31. Mmm...Hmm
    Rachel York, LaChanze
32. Obstinate Little Fool
    Rachel York
33. Their Eyes Are Clear, Blue Like Sky
    Tina Fabrique, Rachel York, LaChanze
34. This Baby Don't Need No Name
    LaChanze, Rachel York
35. Twelve Children
    LaChanze

1. Noah's Dove
   Norm Lewis, Rachel York, LaChanze, Men
2. Through Talking To Nathan
   LaChanze, Norm Lewis
3. Why Y'all Call Her Devil Woman?
   Rachel York, Norm Lewis
4. It Was Then I Knew
   Rachel York
5. Fly Away (reprise)
   Kacia Lewis, Norm Lewis, James Stovall, Soara-Joye Ross, Company
6. Ah, Look Here!
   Norm Lewis, LaChanze, James Stovall, Rachel York, Soara-Joye Ross, Kacia Lewis, Tina Fabrique
7. The Scheme
   Norm Lewis, James Stovall, Company
8. Nathan Thinks We Might Could
   James Stovall, Norm Lewis, Company
9. Why Miz Ruth
   Norm Lewis, Rachel York
10. In The Bend Of My Arm
    LaChanze, Rachel York, Eric Jordan Young, Norm Lewis
11. Miz...Nathan! Nathan...
    LaChanze
12. Better If I Died
    Rachel York, LaChanze, Norm Lewis, Company
13. Ten Petticoats
    Rebecca Eichenberger, Kacia Lewis
14. We Organized To Go
    Norm Lewis, Company, LaChanze, Rachel York
15. Just Over The Line
    Rachel York, LaChanze, Norm Lewis, Company
16. Now Things Was Going
    LaChanze, Rachel York, William Parry
17. A Pleasure
    Rachel York, William Parry, LaChanze
18. That, Mr Oscar Is...
    Rachel York, LaChanze
19. Not If You Tongue Gets Loose...
    LaChanze, Rachel York
20. I Understood
    LaChanze
21. White Milk, Red Blood
    Kacia Lewis, Rachel York
22. They Tell You About The Gloried South
    LaChanze
23. Anna, I Swear You Are As Slow..
    Rachel York, LaChanze
24. It Was Just Like Her
    LaChanze, Michael Hayden, David Hess
25. Master, Master
    LaChanze, Michael Hayden, David Hess
26. 'S'caped
    David Hess, Michael Hayden, LaChanze, Rachel York
27. I Don't Want Your Money Child
    Tina Fabrique, LaChanze
28. Sheriff, This Girl Ain't Got...
    Tina Fabrique, Michael Hayden, David Hess
29. Sheriff, I Got...
    Michael Hayden, David Hess
30. Master, Master...
    Michael Hayden, Rachel York, David Hess
31. Mistriss, I...
    Rachel York, LaChanze
32. Epilogue: We Are Descended
    LaChanze, Rachel York, Soara-Joye Ross, Company
33. Exit Music
    David Holcenberg