The Brown Line at the Lyric Opera for "Omar"!
For The Brown Line's first-ever event, I've partnered with Chicago's Lyric Opera to secure 12 balcony seats at a special group price for this Sunday afternoon's nearly sold out performance of Omar! Because opera should be accessible for everyone — especially this one!
☪️ Omar is the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera inspired by the true story of Omar ibn Said, a West African Muslim scholar who was captured and sold into slavery in the U.S., where he wrote his autobiography in Arabic. Omar's memoir is rare evidence of the literacy and Islamic faith that many enslaved Africans brought with them to America.
🪘 The opera follows Omar's physical and spiritual journey from present-day Senegal to the American South, with a musical score that weaves together African percussion and Islamic prayer with gospel, spirituals, and bluegrass music. (The opera was composed by Rhiannon Giddens, whose work you’ll recognize from Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and Michael Abels, who composed the scores for “Get Out” and “Us.”)
👘 It's great to see stories like ours represented on stage, but even better when WE represent in the audience! So dress in your Sunday cultural best — an agbada, a thobe, a lehenga, or whatever represents your roots (bonus points for indigo; you'll see why) — and join The Brown Line community for a fabulous afternoon of engaging with Black and Muslim history and cultural intersections.
📸 We’ll meet before the performance for fit pics and mingling, experience Omar together, and stay for a post-show conversation led by an ethnomusicologist and some of the cast and creative team of Omar.
Sunday, October 25
Meet at 1:15 p.m. | Performance at 2 p.m.
Lyric Opera House · 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago
$75 per person · Only 12 Brown Line seats!
How to book: RSVP and pay here by Thursday, Oct. 22 at 9pm. Your seat is confirmed once I receive payment. I'll send your ticket by email; the Luma registration is not your opera admission ticket. Because I'm booking group tickets on a tight timeline, I can't offer refunds. If you can’t attend, you’re welcome to transfer your spot to someone else — just let me know their name and email.
Can’t make our group? Subscribe to The Brown Line newsletter to get a special code for 25% off Friday 10/23 or Sunday 10/25 tickets at lyricopera.org.
Can't wait to share a fabulous afternoon with you!