Traveling Theater coming to Beaufort to showcase Gullah role in Memorial Day history. Here’s when

A local theater group hopes to bring Gullah history to life through musicals this Memorial Day weekend.

Gullah Traveling Theatre Inc. is a nonprofit organization that celebrates Gullah culture through education and the arts. The theater is set to perform a two-musical series, called the Gullah National Salute to Service. The shows present the history of the Gullah Geechee people’s role in the American founding through music and storytelling.

The first performances will be held in Beaufort at the USCB Performing Arts Center today at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. The theater will perform the first of its two musicals “Decoration Day 2026” on these dates.

The musical explores the origins of Memorial Day through the perspectives and traditions of formerly enslaved people of the Lowcountry, according to a press release from the theater.

Set after the American Civil War, it highlights how Gullah people decorated the graves of Union soldiers, helping to establish the now national Memorial Day holiday, according to the theater’s website.

The theater’s second musical of the series, “Da’ Gullah American Revolutionary Experience” will be performed at the USCB Performing Arts Center on June 26 and 27. Then the show comes to Bluffton on July 18 and 19 at the May River Theatre.

Times for “Da’ Gullah American Revolutionary Experience” are as follows:

• June 26 and 27: 7 p.m. at USCB Performing Arts Center
• July 18: 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at May River Theater
• July 19: 3 p.m. at May River Theater

This musical presents the contributions of Gullah people to the American Revolution. It features both Gullah “heroes and sheroes” of the period, according to the press release.

The theater hopes Gullah Salute to National Service will educate audiences and honor Gullah people of the past.

“These productions are more than performances — they are opportunities for audiences to connect with history in a meaningful and memorable way,” the theater’s Business Manager Denise Mason Bullitt said in the press release.

Tickets for “Decoration Day 2026” are available now on the theater’s website. Adult tickets are $60, youth $20, and kids under 6 years old are free. The theater recommends reserving tickets early, as seating is limited. Both musicals are appropriate for all ages.