King’s ‘Dream’ Endures in Mix of Music, Drama

“If you can’t fly, run,” the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is heard saying as the lights dim. “If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.”

Daughter Yolanda King then takes the stage to keep spreading that message, through an inspirational mixture of drama, music and dance that she calls “Achieving the Dream.”

Introduced in 1996 during the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, the show is being presented in Los Angeles as part of the city Cultural Affairs Department events commemorating Black History Month. Performances continue Friday through Sunday at the downtown Los Angeles Theatre Center, then move to the Madrid Theatre in Canoga Park Feb. 15-24.

A freedom march of a show, “Achieving the Dream” walks with pride through the history of civil rights as King inhabits a succession of emblematic characters: a girl boarding a newly desegregated bus in the late 1950s; a marcher staring down attack dogs and fire hoses in 1963 Birmingham, Ala.; an activist camping in mud on the Washington Mall as part of 1968’s Resurrection City campaign to publicize the plight of the poor; and a present-day businesswoman attempting to shatter a glass ceiling, among others.

Working on an essentially bare stage, the actress--whose credits include the 1996 film “Ghosts of Mississippi” and the 1978 miniseries “King”--shifts smoothly and distinctly from one character to the next, swapping key bits of costuming, and adjusting her voice and body language.

The script, by King and Cheryl Adams Odeleye, is rendered in strokes broad enough to be understood by children as well as adults. While this sometimes makes the material seem too explanatory or too obvious, it also offers a chance to see through a child’s eyes and learn anew.

Some touches are deliciously sly, such as the warning against complacency that comes in the form of a disco diva who dances through the ‘70s in carefree oblivion while hard-won initiatives are under attack.

Gospel music by Eyvonne Williams frames many of the vignettes and helps to advance messages of unity, resilience and faith. Williams performs some songs; a guest vocalist handles the rest (Linda Hopkins, Dawnn Lewis, Rae’Ven Larrymore Kelly and Patti Henley are scheduled to alternate throughout the run).

Dance enters the mix as part of a lyrically abstract depiction of the 1963 church bombing that killed four girls in Birmingham.

Ashley Thompson sways free and easy, filled with hope and promise--only to see her world explode in the bomb’s blood-red glare.

The disparate art forms don’t always flow into one another as smoothly as they could, but under Ron Stacker Thompson’s straightforward direction, everything keeps moving purposefully ahead.

The Rev. King’s voice is heard from time to time, and his image materializes onstage during the celebratory curtain call. His hopes haven’t all come to pass, the show admits, but his dream remains very much alive.

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“Achieving the Dream,” Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., downtown L.A. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. (213) 485-1681. Also Feb. 15-24 at the Madrid Theatre, 21622 Sherman Way, Canoga Park. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. (818) 347-9938. $25, adults; $20, students and seniors. Running time: 2 hours.