'Band of Angels' playing at the New York City Children's Theater

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The sound of spirituals reverberates down through the generations in the new play "Band of Angels."

Cynthia Nesbit plays Ella, a young woman in Brooklyn who's a bit of a brat and couldn't care less about history, but she gets to go back and learn how much her ancestors struggled to provide her with the privileges she enjoys today.

"Band of Angels," now playing at the New York City Children's Theater, is based on a children's book about a unique period of American history after the Civil War.

"I learned about what it was like right after, right after slavery ended and how we came together to sort of build our own institutions, and start to educate ourselves in that way," said Nesbit.

The story centers on a group of singers from Fisk University who toured the world in the 1870s, said Barbara Krieger, the founder of the Children's Theater. "The white audience had never heard these spirituals before and they started in to give money and that money saved the school."

Ella learns about history and hardship in the course of this play -- and so will kids in the audience.

"They will learn that our history isn't just one of oppression," said Nesbit. "It's one of strength. It's one of courage. It's one of resilience, and I want them to walk out of here and be proud of that."

The show runs through May 10 at the New York City Children's Theater, 311 W. 43rd St., nycchildrenstheater.org.