SAINT PAUL, Minn. — A local play is shedding light on the story of a family during a dark part of Minneapolis history, and the good that came from a friendship between a Black man and his Jewish friend.
It's the final weekend for 'Behind the Sun," debuting professionally at the History Theatre in Saint Paul.
"The play is about my family," said Stanley Kipper, who co-wrote the play. "We were the first black family in an all-white neighborhood."
Kipper, a long-time Edina resident, says his family never carried hate after facing discrimination while looking for a home in South Minneapolis in 1956.
"Obie Kipper has finally found the house of his dreams, but there’s one problem: it’s 1956 and Obie’s dream for the future of his family lies outside his redlined neighborhood, in an all-white neighborhood," the description reads.
Kipper said his father Obie had help from his Jewish friend and his wife, who posed as the Kippers since Jewish people started moving into the neighborhood.
Kipper's long-time friend, life partner, and co-writer Laura Drake helped guide the professional musician into playwriting.
"It was important that Stan's voice as a Black person within this play be heard," said Drake. "It wasn't my play as a white person, but to be able to help shape it and to give a female perspective was important."
His director, Richard D Thompson, see's Stan's family's struggles in his own.
"My hope is that they'll see that these are just common Americans, common people in our American society, looking for that American dream that we all still seek, even to this day," said Thompson.
If you want to see 'Behind the Sun' the show wraps up its run this weekend with performances at History Theatre on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.