Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 11 - safronia

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 16 1887 baar jacob booker is born to baron and sarah jean booker in oscarville, georgia. 1902 magnolia mae jeffries is born to willie and danelle jeffries in harrison, arkansas. 1909 magnolia and her family are amongst a remaining group of african americans who are banished from harrison, arkansas, during a race riot. 1911 in oscarville, georgia, baar meets and marries his first wife andra. they have a son, virgil, a year later. 1912 baar and his family are banished from oscarville, georgia. this trauma establishes recurring nightmares; baar starts drinking to obtain deeper sleep, and he starts drinking to cope with the loss of the family he left behind in oscarville. eventually his drinking becomes a dependency. 1920 baar (a sharecropper) and magnolia (a washer) meet, marry and establish a life in the city of runnfrum (fictional). 1923 baar establishes a distillery where he manufactures whiskey and moonshine (hooch). 1930 safronia jean booker is born. magnolia (a seamstress) establishes a fashion design house. 1945 baar hires king willie tate after bringing him home from college to grieve the loss of his family from a hate crime. On a sunday evening, a week after the death of baar booker, his family returns to the property from which they were banished five years prior, to complete his final wishes of laying his ashes down upon his land (that they have also came to reclaim)! The family is interrupted and confronted by the two men responsible for their banishment from that land. No one has any idea that baar’s youngest daughter, safronia, plans to avenge baar’s death over the two men’s dead bodies! PRODUCTION SPONSORS Lori Komisar and Morris Silverman Costumes provided by: Julz Kroboth Lisa Marzolf, Hero Fabrications, LLC Seams Unlimited Giliberto Designs Michael Zecker Brenetta Ward - Quilter/ Fabric Artist Sara Bunn - Textile Artist Lyric Opera of Chicago thanks its Official Airline, United Airlines. APPROXIMATE TIMINGS This production will be performed with one intermission. TOTAL 2 hours 20 minutes LYRIC’S 2025/26 PRESENTING SEASON SPONSOR: The Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation backstory synopsis