Tommye Myrick’s historical drama ‘Le Code Noir’ premieres in Congo Square Oct. 13-15

“Le Code Noir,†producer and director Tommye Myrick’s historical drama, starts in just the right place for its epic story. The outdoor historical drama premieres in Congo Square this weekend. That’s also the setting for the opening scene, where Santee, a 17-year-old woman with an infant, is being sold at a slave auction.

“That’s part of the Code Noir,†Myrick says of the French monarchy’s rules governing slavery and other matters in French colonial territories. “Families could not be separated.â€

A French planter/merchant wants to buy Santee. He needs a mother, since his wife has died of fever, leaving him with a young son. He wants a wet nurse for his own child.

Santee has been brought to the Louisiana colony by a slave owner fleeing Saint-Domingue. It’s 1794, and the Haitian Revolution is underway, though years from liberation by its formerly enslaved rebels.

The story follows Santee through nearly three tumultuous decades in Louisiana history. 

“In tracing her life, we go from Louisiana under French rule to Spanish and back to France,†Myrick says. “We go through the Louisiana Purchase, through the revolt of 1811, the largest slave revolt in the history of the Americas. We go through the War of 1812 and the Battle of New Orleans. In dealing with those years, you have to deal with parts of Louisiana culture, including placage and the quadroon balls.â€

Myrick has been working on the drama for longer than the period it covers. She trained with Mark R. Sumner, who created several landmark historical outdoor dramas. In 1994, Myrick went to North Carolina to work with Sumner and direct his show, “Pathway to Freedom,†about the Underground Railroad.

When she returned to New Orleans, she decided that the city needed its own epic historical outdoor drama. She enlisted Sumner and the two began working on “Le Code Noir†together.

They took the name from the laws written for French territories. Many of those laws concern enslaved people, but the first requires that Jews either convert to Catholicism or leave the territory. How the laws worked in Louisiana also was complicated. As the pirate Jean Lafitte says in the drama, “It all depends on whose laws you’re reading.†As written, the code forbade the gathering of people enslaved by different owners, but that happened in New Orleans under Spanish rule, and such gatherings in Congo Square were a foundation of the city’s music.

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Santee is a fictional character, named for one of Myrick’s ancestors, who was enslaved in Louisiana. But the drama is grounded in history, and it features historical figures including Lafitte, Marie Laveau and Andrew Jackson.

The show is a grand production, with a total of roughly 50 actors, musicians, dancers and singers. Some of the music is onstage, including scenes of music made in Congo Square. Percussionist Bill Summers is the musical director while the Kai Knight Dance Ensemble is collaborating on the dance and movement.

The production is in Congo Square at the massive live oak known as the Ancestor Tree. Shows begin at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, though Sunday, Oct. 15. Admission is free, and attendees are encouraged to bring chairs.

Myrick is a veteran director and has produced original works through her Voices in the Dark Repertory Theatre. She also starred in the film “Cane River.†During the pandemic, while theaters were closed, she focused on securing grants to finally mount “Le Code Noir.â€

As a rare historical drama performed on a relevant historical landmark, she hopes to make the show an annual production that illustrates and embraces the city’s culture and history.

For information about the show “Le Code Noir,†visit voicesinthedarkrepertory.com.