(electronic news theme begins) - Welcome to Crosscut Now in today's episode, we're celebrating Black History Month with a backstage pass to the Seattle Opera's forthcoming production X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.

We'll bring you inside rehearsals to experience the grandeur and power of the multi-talented cast.

We'll look back at the lawsuit 50 years ago over fishing rights for Native Americans.

More on the bold decision affirming tribal sovereignty.

And while unionization has upticked throughout Seattle and the country, a bill in the state legislature could help people who join the picket line receive unemployment benefits.

I'm Paris Jackson.

I caught up with Cascade PBS Arts correspondent Brangien Davis for a behind the scene trip to the Seattle Opera to learn exactly how the production follows the storied life of Malcolm X and how this show is part of a wave to attract more diverse audiences.

(soft music begins) I'm here outside the Seattle Opera to get a sneak peek of X The Life and Times of Malcolm X and with me is Arts Correspondent Brangien Davis.

- Yeah, so this month I've been featuring local arts events with a connection to Black History and this is one of my absolute top picks.

So I'm excited to get inside and get a sneak peek.

- Let's go check it out.

We're here to see a rehearsal of X the Life and Times of Malcolm X, written by Anthony Davis.

First performed in 1985 the opera has received a grand restaging by a collaborative of several city operas.

With a score that incorporates jazz and swing music.

This production marks the first time an opera written by a Black composer has appeared on Seattle opera's main stage.

So have you been to Seattle Opera before?

- I haven't.

- Oh, good.

- I'm looking forward to this.

- Excellent.

Well, we will go right up to the rehearsal room.

- Okay.

- I'm excited to hear it.

- Me too.

(piano playing) (Kenneth singing) (choir singing) - [Brangien] We talked with two members of the principal cast visiting artists, Leah Hawkins and Joshua Stewart, who play crucial figures from Malcolm's life.

- Tell us about why it's so important to bring Malcolm's story in this musical form to Seattle.

- I think we've said often that his life was larger than life, and so opera is often grand and larger than life and large in scale.

And so I think a story like his belongs on big stages.

So opera is the perfect medium for that.

- With regards to bringing in fresh audiences and trying to tell more stories about people of color, about Black folks, what are you seeing from your perspective as someone that is a performer?

Are you seeing things change in a more progressive way?

- I mean, so far we're seeing some changes.

I've been able to portray three real life Black women on stage, which is big.

And so I think it's moving forward in a way that is positive.

(Leah singing) - What do you hope the audience takes away?

'Cause as you mentioned, you don't want this to be special, you want it to be more so normalized, seeing these type of stories told.

- That we think that we know these historic figures, right?

We have this idea about these historic figures and I want us to open our minds to other ideas about who they were and are.

(Joshua singing) - As I'm sure you know, in your career operas around the country are trying to diversify the stories that are going up on stage and diversify audiences.

Are you seeing any evidence of that working yet?

- I'm not sure, it takes time to make sure something's not a trend, right?

So I think we're leaving this trending time to see what actually lasts and what sticks.

I think Seattle has always done a great job as far as diversity goes.

Like I know some of my favorite singers who are Black American artists, sang here a lot.

Vincent Cole, he sang here, I think maybe almost 20 leading roles so far, a black tenor of that generation.

That's huge.

You know?

So to have that kind of legacy, Gordon Hawkins, all these amazing people, kind of made artistic homes in Seattle.

It's a great honor to be a part of this kind of family of creation, you know?

- And do you have a favorite song that you do?

- [Joshua] I think dramatically there's a moment where I say, you have grown too big for the nation, for our nation and I think that like that line means so much.

Somehow it like reverberates in a certain way.

- And anything you think that the audience will be surprised by?

- I think they'll wanna see it again.

I think it's one of those pieces that after hearing it once, you'll want to hear it again and just kind of digest the music after you see the initial performance that you may see.

I think something about the piece makes you curious in that way.

- We need to work, we need jobs and we need to create them, but we know if whites are forced to give us the jobs, there'll be war.

(group cheering) - We also visited Seattle Opera's costume shop where staff was putting final touches on costumes and wigs reflecting the eras of Malcolm X's life.

- Tell us about the room that we're in right now.

- So this is the Seattle Opera costume shop, and behind us is our hair and makeup and wig room.

So that team does all of the makeup during the show.

They apply it onto people, they hand build wigs.

So all of the threads, the hairs are individually hand tied on when they're making them.

'Cause most people's hairstyles don't work for period pieces.

So we wig a whole bunch of our people and in this room is where we work on all of the clothes or crafts also.

So you can see that there's a whole bunch of different hats and all kinds of interesting things back in this corner.

- Now, with this particular show, it's like a lifespan many different decades.

Yeah.

Is there anything that's had is challenging or is kind of tell us about that process 'Cause it's a lot of costumes over a long time.

- It is.

So the costume designer, Dayday, did a really great job of encapsulating the specific decades that Malcolm's life goes over.

And it's one of those things where a show like this, the costume bears a whole bunch of the weight of how you tell time has progressed.

So our ensemble have seven to eight looks each.

Because otherwise you don't know that 15 years has passed unless their clothes change, their hair changes.

In Malcolm, we have a quick change that is three minutes, and every single ensemble member changes their costume simultaneously.

So three minutes for one costume change is not so bad.

But when it's 16 people and they're all changing at the same time, three minutes doesn't feel like enough time.

- Wow.

X explores the cultural and historical significance of Malcolm X and reflects a vital shift in contemporary opera, bringing diverse and important real world stories to the stage.

- I don't want us to do Black shows, and it's a special event that we're doing this Black show.

It should be normal.

We should see Black stories, we should see Asian stories, we should see Hispanic stories, and it shouldn't be something that we're excited about.

It should be normal.

- Brangien, that was incredible.

My favorite part was the rehearsal.

- I loved hearing their voices and I loved going to the costume shop and seeing all the costumes coming together.

It was great.

- And if you want to see opening night, it kicks off on February 24th and runs through March 9th.

(electronic news music begins) 50 years later, we're taking a look at a key court ruling that upheld US and Native American treaties on fishing in Washington.

We'll explain its significance for Native Nations.

This month mark's 50 years since a momentous ruling reaffirming Native American fishing rights in Washington.

On February 12th, 1974, US District Judge George Hugo Bolt ruled Native Americans were entitled to half the salmon caught in the state because of treaties signed a century before.

It was a marque decision in the longstanding fish wars that had plagued Washington for decades.

That case the United States versus Washington, is considered by experts to be one of the most comprehensive and complex legal fights in the history of Native American law.

It forced the US to keep promises and signed treaties, and also affirmed in US law that tribes are sovereign nations.

Nisqually Tribe Sherman, and son of legendary fishing rights activists, Willie Frank III says 50 years ago, many Nisqually families were struggling and the bold decision made tribes equal partners with the state and salmon management and restoration.

Yet 50 years later, there are major concerns about declining fish populations due to environmental challenges.

(electronic news theme begins) A bill making its way through the Washington legislature could offer striking employees financial assistance from the state.

We'll explain what lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have to say about the proposals.

A bill making its way through the Washington legislature could make it easier for striking workers to join the picket line and receive financial help from the State.

House Bill 1893 would extend a financial safety net to people on strike by allowing those workers to collect unemployment.

The Bill's primary sponsor, representative Beth Daglio, a democrat from Olympia, called the legislation a way to level the playing field between workers and employers who refuse to negotiate fairly with their workforce.

Daglio says, low wage workers cannot exercise the right to strike due to the significant financial burden.

And she says, employers know this.

The proposal would eliminate provision from current law that blocks workers from collecting unemployment pay due to a strike.

Republicans along with business associations oppose the bill because it spreads the additional claims across all employers, which they say drives up costs for everyone and encourages workers to strike or prolong work stoppages.

The bill passed the house this month.

It has been sent to a Senate committee.

I'm Paris Jackson, thank you for watching Crosscut Now, your destination for nonprofit Northwest News.

Go to crosscut.com for more.

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