Open to Public
The Drum Major Instinct
Free Event
Mon, Jan 19.2026
Theater of War Productions and BAM
Present
The Drum Major Instinct
A Dramatic Reading of the Sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Composed and Arranged by Phil Woodmore
Directed by Bryan Doerries
Audience discussion co-facilitated by Bryan Doerries and De-Andrea Blaylock Solar.
Theater of war Productions and BAM will present a special, live performance of The Drum Major Instinct to commemorate MLK Day 2026, featuring Jeffrey Wright, Zohran Mamdani, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, and Jumaane Williams reading Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermon “The Drum Major Instinct,”—a powerful, cautionary sermon about the impulse in all humans to be first—as a catalyst for a facilitated audience discussion about the relevance and resonance of Dr. King’s words today.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct,” on Sunday, February 4, 1968 at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, exactly two months before his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. In it, he prophetically spoke of his own imminent death and laid out a challenge to his congregation, and also the world, to harness an inborn human drive—“the desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade, a desire to be first”— and use it to promote justice, righteousness, and peace by channeling it into acts of service and love. More than fifty years after King’s death, his words resonate with new depth and meaning. It is in the spirit of promoting open, candid, constructive dialogue between diverse audiences that we perform “The Drum Major Instinct,” with the hope that it will lead to compassion, connection, and positive action.
The reading will be accompanied by original and arranged music composed and conducted by Dr. Philip Woodmore, featuring a diverse choir of singers, including educators, activists, police officers, and members of the faith community from St. Louis, Missouri and Brooklyn, New York.
Performances by Jeffrey Wright, Zohran Mamdani, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, and Jumaane Williams, The Phil Woodmore Singers, Marcelle Davies-Lashley and Friends, and soloists De-Rance Blaylock, Duane Foster, John Leggette, and Daniel McRath.
Please email info@BAM.org with any questions.
Tickets are free for this event and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 5:30 pm on January 19 in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House lobby.
Please note that registration does not guarantee a seat.
About the play
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The Drum Major Instinct by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On February 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered this sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. In it, King speaks to his congregation about the destructive forces of “the drum major instinct,” defined as the desire to be first, to be recognized, and to receive distinction. This instinct, according to King, leads to “the most tragic expressions of man's inhumanity to man,” including white supremacy, violence, consumerism, and unjust wars. King challenges his congregants and the world to harness this “drum major instinct” for good, to be first in love, first in righteousness, first in generosity, first in justice, and above all, first in service to others.
Cast Members
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Jeffrey Wright
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Zohran Mamdani
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Jumaane Williams
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Leticia James
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Alvin Bragg
Co-presented by
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