Set on the campus of the University of Illinois in 1963, Music History is a drama about both college life and the struggle for civil rights. The play tells one of many stories about a Black community that is multi-layered, complicated and constantly changing. Music History is also a story of individuals, of particular, complex, and unique women and men. Characters in the play join fraternities and sororities, go South to work with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), fall in love, enjoy triumph and suffer loss. The music featured in the play always reflects and expresses the changing moods of the time, whether played on a phonograph, heard on the radio, or sung by the characters. Musicians who figure in Music History range from Miles Davis, Ray Charles, and Muddy Waters to Tchaikovsky and John Cage.