Collaboraction Theatre will present a free staged reading of Lawndale King, Willie Round’s powerful new play about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s time living in Chicago’s North Lawndale community, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 19, at 1 p.m. at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St., Chicago. Legendary Chicago director and filmmaker Pemon Rami will direct the reading and join Round for a post-show discussion.
Lawndale King, about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s time living in Chicago’s West Side, is a new play by Chicago theater, film and hip hop artist Willie Round (left). Pemon Rami (right) directs Collaboraction’s free staged reading on MLK Day, Mon., Jan. 19, 1 p.m. at the Chicago History Museum.
Lawndale King revives the chapter in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life in 1966 when he moved his family to live in an apartment in North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side. Gripping scenes and vivid community voices tell the intertwined stories of activists, families, slumlords, gangs, pastors and neighborhood youth, revealing the tension, hope, and courage that defined one of King’s most dangerous missions – joining the Chicago Freedom Movement to fight discriminatory housing practices. Intimate and sweeping, Lawndale King showcases Chicago’s West Side as a battleground for justice, capturing the humanity, humor, fear, and resilience of a community standing at the crossroads of change.
Martin Luther King Jr. speaks in 1964 at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights at Soldier Field in Chicago, held to celebrate the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
“Collaboraction looks forward to returning to the Chicago History Museum to bring to life another critical moment in Chicago history,” said Anthony Moseley, Artistic Director and co-director of Collaboraction’s Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till. “The Museum is the ideal setting for the first public reading of Willie’s first full-length work, a project we hope to further develop and premiere in our new House of Belonging in Humboldt Park.”
Lawndale King is one of several events at the Chicago History Museum honoring the national holiday, Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 19. The Museum will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visit chicagohistory.org to learn about more events, exhibits, directions and parking.
The MLK Day reading of Lawndale King will feature Chicago actors Edwin Edvanzd (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), Briana Buckley (Coretta Scott King), Victor Holstein (Reporter/Mr. Sanction/ Charlie Swibel/Board Rep), Omari Ferrell (Bobby Gore/Al Raby), Tory Jacqui Malon (Benny Lee), Kaleb Jackson (Older Benny), Angelena Browne (Sadie Lee), Blake Hamilton Currie (Bernard/ Pepilow), Amir Abdullah (Andrew Young), Larnell James Shadd (James Bevel) and Anthony Moseley (Mayor Richard J. Daley).
Willie Round (playwright) is the creator of Lawndale King, a multigenerational stage work grounded in Chicago’s West Side that examines legacy, migration, and the intergenerational impact of systemic inequality. He is an Emmy Award–winning playwright, filmmaker, actor, and hip hop artist from North Lawndale, Chicago, whose work explores Black history, community memory and cultural resilience through stage, screen and music. He is the founder of MUD LIFE Entertainment, a storytelling platform dedicated to elevating underrepresented voices and preserving lived experiences rooted in place. His work reflects a deep commitment to storytelling as a tool for historical reflection and community engagement. He is a three-time Emmy Award-winner, recognized for his work with Collaboraction and NBC on Trial in the Delta: The Murder Story of Emmett Till, a project that brought national attention to one of the most pivotal moments in American civil rights history. As a writer and actor, his theatrical work has received national recognition, including a Broadway in Chicago/BTA Award for Most Promising Actor and his role as a writer on Lift Every Voice, which received the American Alliance for Theatre & Education Distinguished Play Award. In addition, Round has performed as a hip hop artist for large audiences, opening for Grammy Award–winning artists Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane. He remains deeply connected to North Lawndale, where he continues to engage community members through art, mentorship, and culturally grounded storytelling.
Pemon Remi (director) is an author, film producer, director, and member of boards including the Illinois Arts Council and the Independent Film Alliance’s Luminary Board. He is a former professor at Loyola University and previously Director of Educational and Public Programs at the DuSable Museum of African American History from 2011 to 2016. While a teenager, Remi had a recurring role in Bird of the Iron Feather, TV’s pioneering first Black soap opera. He also appeared in the films The Spook Who Sat by The Door and Mahogany. As a casting director, he sourced talent for The Blues Brothers, Mahogany and Cooley High. His film producing credits include Of Boys and Men with Angela Bassett and Robert Townsend. Remi is an inaugural inductee in the Chicago Black Arts Hall of Fame, one of the Chicago Defender’s 50 Men of Excellence, and winner of the Pan African Film Festival Visionary Award, Congo Square Theatre Lifetime Legacy Award, DuSable Museum Mahogany Award, Black Harvest Film Festival Deloris Jordan Award and the Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago’s Award for Excellence in Film. Full bio here.
About Collaboraction
Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026, Collaboraction is an award-winning Chicago theater company that uses immersive, socially conscious performance to spark change and build equity. Across all platforms, Collaboraction uses its KEDA methodology - Knowledge, Empathy, Dialogue, and Action - to spark changes in behavior and attitudes that manifest social change.
Collaboraction’s past work includes NBC Chicago’s three-time Emmy Award-winning The Lost Story of Emmett Till: Trial in the Delta, the resulting live stage play film, Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, live productions of Crime Scene, Moonset Sunrise, A Blue Island In the Red Sea, its annual Peacebook and Sketchbook festivals, and its youth ensemble, The Light.
In February, Collaboraction will celebrate the Grand Opening of its new House of Belonging, a 99-seat flexible theater and cafe+lounge, newly built inside the Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Avenue. Collaboraction’s new home serves as a new community arts center in Humboldt Park presenting live theater, spoken word, music, dance, films, workshops, youth education and events. The inaugural production is Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, returning in its most fully realized form yet, February 1-March 1, 2026.
Collaboraction is led by Darlene Jackson, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director; Anthony Moseley, Chief Programming Officer and Artistic Director; and a dedicated board, company members and staff
For more information, visit collaboraction.org or follow Collaboraction on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Bluesky.