A dying Thomas Jefferson, his estate in debt and his family in chaos, is confronted with a grim choice: Appease the wealthy interests of the young country by affirming that the Declaration of Independence does not apply to slaves, or cement his legacy and the freedom of generations of black Americans by denouncing the evil institution on which the fragile economy depends.

To resolve this dilemma, Jefferson turns to Edgar Allan Poe, a new student and burgeoning poet at the University of Virginia. Together, they examine the challenges to writing truth to power, the out-sized power of government-orchestrated fear, and the paradox of freedom in America.

Based on historical fact, Monticello is a fictional examination of what happened when the country's architect of our freedom realizes that the whole American experiment has turned out to be a mistake.

Monticello is directed by Anthony Irons and produced by Aurora Theater Works, Inc. It is written by Thomas Geoghegan.

Performance time is just under two hours with a short intermission.

Monticello will be performed at the theater annex at St. Bonaventure, 1625 West Diversey Parkway, Chicago - which is at the corner of Diversey and Ashland Avenue.

There is some free parking and non metered parking in the area.

Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased on line directly or through Pay pal.