Ernest J. Gaines’ beloved novel will be given new life for one week only as the Nicholls Players bring to the stage Romulus Linney’s A Lesson Before Dying, a play developed for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Southern Writers’ Project based on Gaines story of segregation and racism in the South.

Adapted closely from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Lesson Before Dying is set in 1948 rural Louisiana and tells the story of two young men, both trying to break free of the chains that society has placed on them. This uniquely theatrical interpretation by Linney focuses on the struggles of the poor and oppressed to try and gain pride and dignity within a hostile and racist environment.

A young man is to be executed for a murder he probably did not commit, but in 1940s Louisiana, the question is not whether or not young Jefferson will be executed but how he will face his death.  His godmother, Miss Emma, wants him to die a man and seeks the help of a reluctant young plantation schoolteacher, Grant Wiggins, to make sure Jefferson knows just who and what he represents before he takes his final steps.  Bursting with life and freedom, Grant is torn between his desire to fly away from Louisiana with girlfriend Vivian and his duty to serve the people who gave him the life that he takes for granted.  Their struggle through these final lessons is what creates the dramatic arc of this powerful play and novel.?

The play stars Warren Snowden (last seen as Constantine in Big Love) as Grant Wiggins and Gary Baker as Jefferson. Also featured are Nicholls students Amber Papillion as Vivian Baptiste, Nathan Egnew as the unexpected ally Paul Bonin, Shalyn Calongne as the irascible Sheriff Guidry, and graduate student Maya Kennedy as Miss Emma. Assistant Director of the Student Union Mr. Melvin Harrison will play the outspoken Reverend Ambrose, Grant’s bitter enemy in the education of Jefferson.

 Produced in special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, the show will be held in the Talbot Theater. Tickets can be bought an hour before the show in the lobby area of Talbot Hall. Advance tickets can be purchased beginning March 14 in 102 Talbot Hall or by calling the Mass Communication Department office at 985-448-4586.  Advance sale group rates available for groups of 10 or more. Regular priced tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for student tickets with a valid Nicholls ID.