Standing from left: Casey Murphy, Aleah Vassell, Brian L. Boyd. Seated: Eliza Engle, Ariel Blue Photos by Sorcha Augustine.

 The world premiere show “Ruby” (which was originally scheduled for the 2019-2020 season but delayed due to COVID-19) is a musical retelling by WBTT founder/artistic director Nate Jacobs and his brother, Michael Jacobs, of the shocking killing of a White doctor in Live Oak, Florida, by a Black woman – Ruby McCollum – who was tried in the case and eventually committed to Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida.  
In 1952, when the killing happened, Ruby and her husband, Sam, were quite prosperous for the time and place and well-respected in the community. It was one of their four children – the youngest, Loretta – Ruby McCollum later said was the product of a forced relationship with the shooting victim, Dr. C. Leroy Adams. McCollum claimed the reason for the killing was because Adams refused to leave her alone.

But there is more than true crime to this story, which became so notorious that famed writer Zora Neale Hurston was sent by the Pittsburgh Courier to cover the trial. In segregated Florida, where Black people were essentially disenfranchised, unable to serve on juries or hold political office, the history of  White men taking sexual advantage of Black women without repercussions was long. Ruby's testimony at trial was limited to exclude much of her defense, and the judge imposed a gag order on her as well, preventing any press interviews. Ruby's is a fascinating, powerful story, one that's been touched upon in books and documentary films. Now, it (finally) takes the stage live in what promises to be an emotional musical drama. This powerful and haunting musical explores the secrets just beneath the surface of the idyllic, genteel exterior of a quaint Florida town. 

Standing from left: Casey Murphy, Aleah Vassell, Brian L. Boyd. Seated: Eliza Engle, Ariel Blue Photos by Sorcha Augustine.

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