"The Ruby in Us" is a precious gem

Don’t miss this or you’ll hate yourself in the morning.

“The Ruby in Us” is a short-lived gift from the Old Globe on view for three performances: June 21 at 7 p.m.; June 22 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. All at the George L. Stevens Senior Center, 570 S. 65th Street, San Diego 92114; telephone 619-266-2066. Free parking. Tickets are just $20. All proceeds benefit the non profit Fourth District Seniors Resource Center led by the indefatigable Rosemary Pope.

“The Ruby in Us” centers on one of the most famous children in American history, six-year-old Ruby Nell Bridges, who was tasked with desegregating the all-white William Frantz Elementary School, New Orleans, Louisiana, in September, 1960. The nation was riveted by the indelible image of Ruby on the nightly TV news with her winning smile, in her pretty violet dress, white socks and Mary Janes, flanked by her mother and U. S. Marshalls holding off a snarling crowd.

Said one marshall, “She showed a lot of courage. She never cried. She didn’t whimper. She just marched along like a little soldier, and we’re all very, very proud of her.”

Hence the title of the gifted Karen Ann Daniels’ stirring new musical: The name Ruby doubles as a precious gem and triples as the latent courage in all of us, especially those African Americans descended, as Ruby’s family was, from slaves and sharecroppers.

We had the pleasure of seeing a short preview of the musical on June 19, the historic Freedom Day (a.k.a. Black Independence Day), marking the abolition of slavery in Texas and the former Confederate states.

The senior center was jam-packed. The program opened with a festive luncheon and the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” otherwise known as the Black National Anthem written by poet James Weldon Johnson in 1900. Cheers rang out as Darnisha Hunter of Mayor Faulconer’s office declared Karen Ann Daniels Day.

The Old Globe fostered “The Ruby in Us” in its coLAB workshop wherein neighborhood people developed dialogue and action for Daniels’ book, music and lyrics. This unusual, community-based approach is funded by the James Irvine Foundation. In Year Three, neither the Globe nor the Irvine has ever spent a better dollar. Not only has the coLAB collaboration resulted in a fresh look at a pivotal moment in American history, it has proven, if proof were needed, that great voices are under every rock in this country. In this show you’ll hear a wonderful, 10-person choir, the beautiful Alexandra Slade as Ruby, the impressive Joy Yvonne Jones as her mother, the stalwart Victor Morris as her father, the remarkable Kendrick Dial as the preacher—and much more.

Consider yourselves notified. Only three performances. Be there.