Vol. 18, No. 8	Oct. 22, 1998

Still seats for Douglass play

There are still seats for the program Presenting Mr. Frederick Douglass: Why I Became a Women's Rights Man, to be performed by Fred Morsell at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 26, in Mitchell Hall.

Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave, fiery abolitionist and orator, prolific writer, esteemed public official and dedicated defender of women's rights at the Seneca Falls Woman's Rights Convention in 1848. Morsell has inspired audiences for over a decade with Douglass' message of racial and gender justice.

At UD, he will present an edited speech, taken from over 40 Douglass speeches, delivered between 1848 and 1888, on the justice of and necessity for granting women full and equal opportunity in all aspects of life as men had. Douglass was one of the few prominent public men of the 19th century to take an unequivocal stand for women in their quest for justice and equal protection of the laws.

Morsell's professional acting career spans nearly 30 years and includes seasons with the Actor's Theatre of Louisville, the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, the New York Shakespeare Festival, the McCarter Theatre of Princeton and other regional theatres across America.

He has appeared both on and off Broadway in numerous plays and musicals and has an extensive background in film and television. A lyric baritone, Morsell has sung leading roles in 21 operas. Acclaimed across the United States for his portrayal of Douglass, Morsell performed at many of the nation's Douglass centennial celebrations, staged throughout 1995.

Since 1984, Morsell has become a scholar on the life and times of Frederick Douglass. He performs his one-man, two-act play, Presenting Mr. Frederick Douglass: Why I Became a Women's Rights Man, for colleges, civic groups, churches and regional theatres.

Morsell was featured on the Bill Moyer's Journal, delivering Frederick Douglass' last great speech, "The Lesson of the Hour."

Morsell's 7 p.m. performance on Monday, Oct. 26, in Mitchell Hall is not sold out, as noted in the Oct. 15 issue of UpDate. A public school performance in Mitchell Hall at 10 a.m., Oct. 27, is sold out. For information, call 831-8063.