INSPIRING

by Gord Caruth

The story of Michelle from the little girl growing up in the southside of Chicago who always asking “Why can’t I?” who made her way through Princeton University to Harvard Law School on to a successful career as a corporate lawyer and eventually becoming First Lady.

A new musical by Canada’s most prolific writer of musical theatre in the 21st century, Gord Carruth, a national ACTRA award-winning playwright/composer.

This is the first Canadian-written Black musical ever presented in Ottawa featuring a cast of Black actors.

This production is raising funds to support the work of the Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County

The musical features two outstanding local performers: Racquel Sutherland in the role of Michelle and Jamaal Amir Akbari as Barack.

Raquel Sutherland

Racquel is an actress, dancer storyteller and educator She is currently serving as a volunteer on the board of directors of Ottawa Storytellers. She is also the Vice- President of the Jamaican Ottawa Community Association.

Jamaal Amir Akbari

Jamaal Amir Akbari (Just Jamaal, The Poet) is an award-winning poet, arts educator, creative entrepreneur, and performance artist. As a poet, he was selected to be Ottawa’s first English Poet Laureate after 27 years in which the position had gone unfilled, while his career in arts education has earned him 2016’s Ontario Arts Educator Award.