Toledo Opera to host “Building Trust:

A Documentary Film Screening and Panel Discussion” on Wednesday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m.

Published Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Toledo Opera to host “Building Trust: A Documentary Film Screening and Panel Discussion” on Wednesday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m.

Toledo, OH—Toledo Opera will host a second screening of the documentary film Blue: Stories from Toledo at the Franciscan Theatre & Conference Center at Lourdes University. To contextualize the story of Blue within the lived experiences of Toledoans, Toledo Opera and Madhouse Creative collaborated on a 20-minute documentary film featuring interviews with Toledoans and opera experts.

Welcome remarks will be given by Lisa McDuffie, President/CEO of the YWCA of Northwest Ohio and Community Chairperson for Toledo Racial Equity and Inclusion Council (TREIC). The screening of the documentary film will be followed by a panel presentation with Toledo community members and law enforcement experts who will discuss building trust between the police and Black residents. President and Lead Strategist of the Ronald Group, Dr. Patrice McClellan, will moderate the panel presentation. Former Toledo Police Department (TPD) detective Tonya Rider; director of the Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment in the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services and officer in the Copley Police Department Sarah Shendy; artist who co-created the George Floyd and Damia Ezell murals in Toledo David Ross; State Trooper Darriontae Stewart; and Founder of Blue Force Mobile Training Team and President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Ohio, Dr. Marvin Whitfield will serve as panelists.

Blue is the story of an African American couple in Harlem who anticipates the birth of their firstborn, a son, with both hope and fear. As the baby grows into a young man, the mother worries for his future, and the father tries to prepare his son for the realities of 21st century America, while wrestling with his own identity as a police officer, a "Black man in blue." When their deepest fears come true, the family is forced to navigate a devastating reality seeking answers and support from their church and community. Toledo Opera presents the Tony Award®–winning composer Jeanine Tesori and NAACP Theatre Award–winning librettist Tazewell Thompson’s new opera inspired by contemporary events and Black literature. Influenced by gospel music and using vivid flashbacks, Blue places timely issues at the forefront of modern opera and invites audiences to the emotional epicenter of their impact.  Chelsea Tipton, II returns to Toledo to conduct the opera and librettist Tazewell Thompson serves as the stage director.

This event is free and open to the public. For public registration to the event, please RSVP to Luke Serrano at lserrano@toledoopera.org. For media access, please contact Rachael Cammarn at rcammarn@toledoopera.org. 

Blue is made possible by Owens Corning, The National Endowment for the Arts, and Ohio Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information about Blue, please visit www.toledoopera.org/upcoming-performances/season-event/blue/. For more information on Toledo Opera, visit https://toledoopera.org.