song she would sing.
“I believe,” Michelle said in an in-
terview, “that Nina was doing what
she did way before her time. I feel
that if Nina was here right now, it
would be just right.
“Forty years ago, people weren’t
ready to hear that. There was a
civil rights movement—Martin Lu-
ther King and James Baldwin and
others were on the ground, and
Nina was with them—but on the
stage as a performer, a lot weren’t
able to do that.”
Michelle believes that Simone’s
message would resonate with a
wider audience today when black
and white Americans are more
likely to be protesting injustice
side by side.
“Today people would lead her
loud and clear,” Michelle said. “I
feel that women of all races are
screaming, and yelling and wav-
ing and standing strong as one,
despite their color. I think that’s
remarkable. We’re not only fight-
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 55
ing for rights, but we’re demand-
ing them.”
“Little Girl Blue” will allude to a
pivotal episode in Simone’s life,
the rejection of her application to
study piano at the Curtis Institute
of Music in Philadelphia. She was
already an accomplished musician,
and she believed that she was
snubbed, and her life ambition
was derailed, because of her race.
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