Imagine if New Haven had a historically black college. In 1831 New Haven had the opportunity to host the nation’s first Black college but due to opposition from the City’s elite, the college never came to fruition. A Divine Homecoming is an intergenerational production honoring HBCU history and legacy through storytelling and step creating an imagined experience of what could’ve been.
The story is told through a group of older Divine 9 members on their return to A&I University for Homecoming. As the friends congregate in their student union, they take a trip down memory lane to their golden days back in college in the ‘70s. In flashback scenes, the alumni will share their Divine 9 experiences through step performances (performed by a younger generation of Greeks). Stepping is a percussive, highly-energetic art form first developed through the song and dance rituals created by Black fraternities and sororities, with origins to West African culture. The show concludes with a performance by Toronto native, O’Sound.
Before the show, celebrate Juneteenth on the Upper Green!
CAST:
Joseph Caroll (Alpha Phi Alpha)
Sharon Jones (Alpha Kappa Alpha)
Sam Gray Jr (Kappa Alpha Psi)
Earl Bloodworth (Omega Psi Phi)
Babz Rawls-Ivy (Delta Sigma Theta)
Don McAulay (Phi Beta Sigma)
Karen Gatison (Zeta Phi Beta)
Erica Garcia-Young (Sigma Gamma Rho)
Dawin Magliore (Iota Phi Theta)
A Divine Homecoming & O'Sound
O'Sound
Owen ‘O’Sound’ Lee is a musician, songwriter, vocal arranger, and producer from Toronto, Ontario. Owen grew up singing in church, and after studying Vocal Performance Jazz at York University he began pursuing music as a full-time career, and has been making strides ever since.
In 2014, Owen extended his musical reach to the East Coast of Canada when he relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is currently the Minister of Music at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Upper Hammonds Plains, the Program Coordinator of the African Nova Scotian Music Association, the former Musical Director of the Nova Scotia Mass Choir (2014-2019), and the current Musical Director of CBC’s East Coast Music Hour, The Story and the Song series.
Owen is the recipient of numerous awards and nominations. Most recently, he was nominated for the 2021 African Canadian Artist of the Year for both Music Nova Scotia and the East Coast Music Association, and Hip-Hop Recording of the Year for the East Coast Music Association. He also won Single of the Year for the 2021 African Nova Scotian Music Association.
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