Greenville, South Carolina’s Glow Lyric Theatre, has announced the Southern premiere of Frances Pollock and Tia Price’s new opera, “Stinney: An American Execution,” at the Fred Collins Performing Arts Stage in Greenville, South Carolina’s Kroc Center from July 22 to 31, 2022.

The opera relates the story of George Stinney, Jr., a 14-year-old African-American boy wrongly convicted and executed in 1944 for the rape and murder of two white girls in Alcolu, SC. Price expands the story to include that of his family, community, and the ten men who sent him to the electric chair. George Stinney Jr. remains the youngest person legally executed in the 20th century.

The Southern premiere will bring the opera into Stinney’s home state, with Glow hoping to foster community dialogue, acknowledge past atrocities, and promote a culture of understanding.

Featured artists include tenor Khary Wilson as George Stinney, Sr., mezzo-soprano Shanelle Woods as Alma Stinney; baritone Andrew Wannigman as police sergeant Ed Wall; bass Lloyd Reshard as Rev. Williams, and actor Gavin Rector as George Stinney, Jr. Jenna Elser and Jenise Cook co-direct the production, with maestro Bryon K. Black II on the podium.