Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre will present a concert reading of professor Shelley Russell’s Holdin’ Our Own: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. This special event coincides with the 40th anniversary of the ship’s sinking. It begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Jamrich Hall auditorium (room 1100). Tickets are free and available in advance at the Forest Roberts Theatre box office.

Holdin’ Our Own is a historical drama that combines what is known with what has been theorized about the tragedy. The title comes from Captain Ernest McSorley’s reported last words, “We are holding our own,” uttered minutes before the Edmund Fitzgerald and its crew of 29 descended beneath the surface of Lake Superior. 

The play was originally written by Russell and performed at NMU to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the incident, and to honor the men and women who work in the maritime and Great Lakes’ freighting industries.