Slave market inspired Joe Horton's 'A Hill in Natchez,' a meditation on race and power

Director Joe Horton started working on this show three years ago, when his father hit a roadblock while researching their family history. That summer, the two took a trip down South and stopped in Natchez, Miss., to see the Forks of the Road, which once was one of the biggest slave markets in the southeastern United States. They found a hill with nothing to mark it but a cement slab with rusty chains. Horton's reaction was a starting point for his new work, which takes a deep dive into subconscious layers of race and power in American history. With vocalists Chastity Brown, Mankwe N'Dosi and Crescent Moon (of Kill the Vultures), DeVon Gray on keyboards, Michelle Kinney on cello and Rashida Black on harp, plus an ensemble of dancers, the work offers a meditative exploration of our collective psyche. (7:30 p.m. Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Av. S., Mpls. $24; $12 for preview Thu., 612-326-1811, southerntheater.org.)

SHEILA REGAN