Daughter/mother writing team Kristin and Lynn Elzey of Sharonville will again see student performances of their original Underground Railroad drama “Cincinnati 28,” playing at Cincinnati Museum Center Feb. 6-8 and Feb. 13-15.

 

Several years in the making, “Cincinnati 28” started out as a high school writing project for Kristin Elzey in her junior year at Cincinnati Christian Hills Academy.

 

Lynn Elzey came across the story of a group of fugitive slaves and conductor John Fairfield crossing the Ohio River near Cincinnati when she was researching her play “Runaway Slave” that she wrote while working for the Heritage Museum at Sharon Woods.

 

Kristin’s story turned out so well, the Elzey women looked at each other and asked, “What if we worked together?” bringing it to the educational stage.

 

Now Kristin is a senior at Miami University and “Cincinnati 28” debuted at the museum center in November with more performances this month. Lynn works in the museum center’s education department, opening the door for “Cincinnati 28.”

 

Kristin says their writing styles are different – Lynn “writes everything out by hand and can write all night if she has an idea. I write mostly on the computer in small blocks of time.” Lynn is responsible for researching and Kristin brings the theatrical perspective of “scene changes, interaction between characters.”

 

They created a play “that investigates themes of courage and change,” says Kristin, appropriate for grades four to 12, “and that illustrates the strength and sacrifices of those who gave their lives so that others could achieve freedom.”

 

Kristin, a strategic communication major with a minor in entrepreneurship isn’t a playwright but she could be a presenter. These days she’s submitting “Cincinnati 28” to play competitions and educational theaters, hoping the play can have life beyond Cincinnati.