Broadbend, Arkansas

Opening in New York City on October 25, 2019, Broadbend, Arkansas is a two-act play/musical produced in association with the renowned Public Theater, which was the originator of such Broadway landmarks as Hair (1967), A Chorus Line (1975), and Hamilton (2015). The libretto for Broadbend, Arkansas was written by Ellen Fitzhugh and Harrison David Rivers, with music and additional lyrics by Ted Shen, none of whom seem to have had a personal Arkansas connection. In 2023, the production had a world premiere under the name We Shall Someday, an expansion with a third part added.

Broadbend, Arkansas takes place in the fictional town of Broadbend. The plot centers around three generations of an African American family grappling with racism, violence, and inequality. The two performers who portray the story’s characters both act and sing throughout, with the musical score replacing almost all spoken dialogue. The storyline concerns two different events that take place twenty-seven years apart. Each act spotlights one actor who performs as both narrator and singer. In the first act, taking place in 1961, the character of Benny Tate is thirty-six years old. In the second part, set in 1988, his thirty-year-old daughter Ruby Tate follows up with her story.

Act I introduces Benny, an orderly at the fictional Broadbend Nursing Home. The year was 1961, a time of civil rights activism, coming only four years after the desegregation crisis at Central High School in Little Rock (Pulaski County), an event that made worldwide news. In the play, Benny becomes fascinated by the Freedom Rides, a campaign developed by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1961 to try to pressure local leaders and the federal government to end segregation at interstate transportation facilities.

The real-life Freedom Riders from St. Louis, Missouri, arrived in Little Rock on July 10, 1961, on their way to Louisiana. When the Freedom Riders’ bus pulled into the Midwest Trailways terminal downtown, a crowd of 300 to 400 whites were gathered because the local bus route had been printed in the newspaper. Little Rock police chief Robert Glasscock asked the five riders to leave the “whites-only” section; they refused and were arrested for breach of the peace. After being taken to Little Rock’s city jail, the riders were told they could have their fines and sentences revoked if they agreed to leave the state peacefully and not to test any more facilities there. The riders agreed, leaving Little Rock in order to continue their journey.

In the play Broadbend, Arkansas, the character of Benny is inspired by meeting the Freedom Riders, and he supports their cause. However, he witnesses bigotry, violence, and racism from white supremacists the riders encounter along the way. Ultimately, Benny is caught up in a riot that is sparked by racists who resent the Freedom Riders.

During Act II, the play introduces Benny’s thirty-year-old daughter Ruby, who is angry and bitter at continuing racial hostility. Her son, Ben—a fifteen-year-old boy named after her father—has been framed by the police and hospitalized after being beaten for resisting arrest. She recounts her life growing up in Broadbend, particularly the racism she encountered as one of only five Black students in the white elementary school. She envies her sister, who left town to go to college and never came back. Ruby also feels the loss of her mother, who was institutionalized for mental illness. Subsequently, Ruby realizes that she must reflect the courage of the Freedom Riders and “get back on the bus” in order to move forward with her son. By concerning itself with the cycle of racial violence, the play challenges Americans to find hope and also create positive change against a backdrop of hate.

The New York cast featured Justin Cunningham, known for his role in the acclaimed Netflix series When They See Us (2019), and Danyel Fulton, who received a Drama League Award nomination for her performance in Broadbend, Arkansas. The original cast album was released in 2020. The New York production ended its limited run on November 23, 2019, but between July 20 and August 16, 2020, a streamed performance was available free of charge via the Black Theatre Network. The streaming service also offered a virtual conversation series featuring the cast and creative team of Broadbend, Arkansas, with the goal of examining racial justice issues across the nation. Critic Victor Gluck of Theatre Scene called Broadbend, Arkansas an instant classic, adding that “it is a little masterpiece that should have a long life on the concert stage.”

Under the name We Shall Someday, the original Broadbend, Arkansas was expanded with a third part (with Rivers and Shen as the writers), focusing on the effects of the police violence on a now adult Ben. It had its world premiere at Theater Latté Da in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2023.

For additional information:
“Broadbend, Arkansas.” Transport Group. https://transportgroup.org/project/broadbend-arkansas/ (accessed July 18, 2025).

“Broadbend, Arkansas, Video Highlights.” Transport Group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcuc8PL-6iw (accessed July 18, 2025). [see Related Video in sidebar]

Fitzhugh, Ellen, Harrison David Rivers, and Ted Shen. Broadbend, Arkansas. Los Angeles, CA: Steele Spring Stage Rights, 2021.

Gluck, Victor. “Broadbend, Arkansas.” Theater Scene. https://www.theaterscene.net/musicals/offbway/broadbend-arkansas/victor-gluck/ (accessed July 18, 2025).

Harrison David Rivers | Playwright. “We Shall Someday.” https://www.harrisondavidrivers.com/we-shall-someday (accessed July 18, 2025).

Saltzman, Simon. “Broadbend, Arkansas.” CurtainUp. http://www.curtainup.com/broadbendarkansas19.html (accessed July 18, 2025).

“We Shall Someday.” Theater Latté Da. https://www.latteda.org/broadbend-arkansas (accessed July 18, 2025).

Nancy Hendricks
Garland County Historical Society