Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till

Collaboraction Theatre Company is thrilled to announce its inaugural production at Chicago’s newest live theater space, Collaboraction’s new House of Belonging in Humboldt Park: 

Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, the company’s award-winning live docudrama, will return in its most fully realized form yet. Featuring a powerhouse ensemble of returning artists and new voices, this urgent, unforgettable theatrical event invites audiences to confront the truth, honor a legacy, and experience history as if it were happening today.

A series of sneak-peek events will kick off in late January at Collaboraction’s House of Belonging in the Kimball Arts Center. Previews of Trial in the Delta, Sunday, February 1 and Thursday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m., will be part of the Grand Opening build-up.

The Grand Opening Performance and Ritual Celebration is Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. 

Performances of Trial in the Delta continue weekly through March 1:

• Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.

• Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (Exception: No 3 p.m. show Saturday, February 7.)

• Sundays at 3 p.m.

Run time is approximately one hour 50 minutes, including a short Crucial Conversation after every performance.

Tickets: $25 - $55

Email boxoffice@collaboraction.org for information on group discounts.

“As Collaboraction turns 30 and opens our new House of Belonging in Humboldt Park, we couldn't co-dream a more relevant first production than Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, bringing to life the trial that served as a catalyst of the start of the Civil Rights movement,” said Collaboraction Artistic Director Anthony Moseley. “When Mamie Till said that ‘everybody's business is my business,’ it’s as if she had a dream for a Beloved Community. We are honored to be a part of her legacy and manifesting our new space for arts, youth, social justice and community.”

Collaboraction's House of Belonging, now open in the Kimball Arts Center, is a sleek, 4,000-square foot space featuring a new 99-seat flexible studio theater and a 50-seat cabaret with cafe/bar. Free and nearby street parking is available. For CTA riders, the 82 Kimball-Homan bus stops right in front of the building. The theater is also a short walk from the Kimball stop on the 72 North and 73 Armitage bus lines. For bikers and pedestrians, the Kimball trailhead on The 606 leads directly to the Kimball Arts Center. 

Step inside the courtroom that changed America

Kayla Franklin (left) played Mamie Till-Bradley in Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till in 2023 at the DuSable Museum of Black History. (center) Emmett Till’s uncle Mose Wright, played by Darren Jones, points out J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant as the boy’s murderers. (right) Willie Reed, played by Mysun Aja Wade, was a witness to the murder of Emmett Till. Photos by Joel Maisonet

On September 20, 1955, the trial of the men who murdered Emmett Till began—and the world would never be the same. In Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, Collaboraction transforms the original, long-buried trial transcript into a gripping, immersive theatrical experience that places audiences face-to-face with the people whose testimony shaped the civil rights movement.Co-adapted by Willie Round and G. Riley Mills and co-directed by Anthony Moseley and Dana Anderson, Trial in the Delta unfolds like a live reenactment of the actual proceedings in Sumner, Mississippi. Actors seated among the audience rise to become witnesses for the prosecution and defense—including the trailblazing Mamie Till-Bradley, bringing raw, unfiltered history to life.Born from a groundbreaking collaboration with NBC5 Chicago, Trial in the Delta won a National Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary, two Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards and a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association. Collaboraction grew the teleplay into a full-length, immersive theatrical experience that had two short runs at the DuSable Black History Museum. The final live performance in February 2023 was professionally filmed and has been screened for groups including the The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, the Chicago History Museum, the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the First Circuit Court of Philadelphia. 

Now, Collaboraction’s live production will receive its most ambitious staging yet to inaugurate the company’s new House of Belonging. Boasting a dynamic cast of returning favorites and bold new talent, this multi-week run invites audiences to bear witness, honor Emmett Till’s legacy, interrogate America’s past, and ignite urgent conversation for our present.

(left) NK Gutiérrez as Mamie Till-Bradley, Mickey Dolan as the clerk and John Henry Roberts as lead prosecutor Gerald Chatham in Collaboraction’s Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till in September 2025 at the Chicago History Museum. (center) NK Gutiérrez as Mamie Till-Bradley and Mickey Dolan as the clerk. (right) NK Gutiérrez (right) as Mamie Till-Bradley, framed by her son’s murderers (front, from left) Tyler Burke as Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam as Matt Miles in Trial in the Delta at the Chicago History Museum in September 2025. Photos by Joel Maisonet