This July and August will premiere SCNPF’s first full production The House That I Live In; Josh White’s America, taking July 29-August 9 as part of the fifth anniversary season of the festival.

SCNPF commissioned and developed The House That I Live In; Josh White’s America by Donnetta Lavinia Grays. Tamilla Woodard will direct the production with Wesley Hix as the musical director.

The original musical is inspired by the true-life story of prominent blues and folk musician Josh White. The show tells Josh’s story, from his beginning in Greenville as a "lead boy" to Blind Musicians in the Upstate all the way to his rise to fame in the 30’s and 40’s at New York Clubs like Café Society and as a star of Broadway and Hollywood, including scenes with legends like Billie Holiday, Woody Guthrie and Paul Robeson, to name but a few. Over the past three years, SCNPF has facilitated research and interviews between Donnetta Lavinia Grays and Josh White's family members as well as local experts and scholars from the Greenville community. Many of those who were interviewed, like Ruth Ann Butler, Mary Duckett, and Josh White Jr have passed during the creation of the project, and the show immortalizes their stories in play form.

Auditions will be held in May and full casting announced at a later date.

Opening Wednesday, July 29 and running through Sunday, August 9 at The Cristal Palace