Daniel Beaty's 'Emergency' Surfaces In Boston

"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you this breaking news report: A slave ship has just risen out of the Hudson River in front of the Statue of Liberty."

That's how performing artist Daniel Beaty's one-man show "Emergency" opens.

Let's imagine — just for a moment — that it is true: A slave ship emerges in front of the Statue of Liberty, and New York City suddenly confronts head on a dark chapter of our nation's history.

In "Emergency," Beaty offers us the responses of over 40 different characters from all walks of life — from a drag queen, to a homeless man, to a "slave-ologist" from Ghana. Beaty tells this story in 80 stunning minutes of comedy, dramatic monologue, slam poetry and song.

"Emergency" is being performed this Friday through Sunday at the Cutler Majestic Theatre.

Daniel Beaty, actor/writer/creator of "Emergency"

ArtsEmerson "[T]he responses to this surreal happening and varied testimonies on identity and personal freedom weave a stirring commentary on what it is to be human and the longing to be free."

The Boston Globe "Cross-cutting rapidly among two dozen characters, Beaty creates an often comic cross section of 21st-century African-American life while digging deep into one family’s tragedy."