THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT. WAITING LIST ONLY. TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITING LIST EMAIL; rogerdrapoport@me.com

When The Rabbis Came To Town

A World Premiere, The Waterworks, 184 San Marco Avenue, St. Augustine Florida, June 17, 2026 at 6 p.m.

On June 17, 1964, sixteen rabbis at an Atlantic City convention answered an emergency appeal from the Southern Christian Leadership Council’s Reverend Martin Luther King. They flew to St. Augustine, Florida to join civil rights protestors who had been beaten and confronted with death threats. A prayer service the following day in the parking lot of the segregated Monson Motor Lodge led to their immediate arrest by police and Ku Klux Klan members deputized by the local sheriff.

The largest mass arrest of rabbis in American history became front page news. While the rabbis put the finishing touches on their “Why We Went” letter in a tiny sweltering cell, the U.S. Senate immediately passed Lyndon Johnson’s long delayed Civil Rights bill 73-27. King credited the courageous rabbis for their decisive role in bringing down the curtain on more than 100 years of American segregation.

This show features Adam Bell (above) performing the role of Rabbi Allen Secher, the last of the 16 famous rabbis still alive. Following this world premiere event Bell will be joined by Rabbi Secher for an audience conversation.

More details are at this link.

Seating for this event is limited and advance reservations are recommended. All Ticket Sales Are Final. No Refunds or Exchanges.

For more information please contact producer Roger Rapoport at the Heartland Independent Film and Drama Forum at rogerdrapoport@me.com or (231) 720-0930 (voice only).

Special Note: At Noon June 18 Rabbi Secher will join Avi Dresner, the son of Rabbi Israel Dresner for the reading of the Why We Went letter at the St. Johns County Jail Annex. This letter was written by the 16 rabbis while they were under arrest takes at 4025 Lewis Speedway.

THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT, WAITING LIST ONLY. EMAIL TO rogerdrapoport@me.com