How would you like to take a trip covering time instead of distance? “Having Our Say,” a Tony-nominated play showing at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines Nov. 2, allows you to do just that. In under two hours, a cast of two with a single set brings to life six generations, dozens of characters and nearly 100 years of American life.

The play is based on the best-selling memoirs “Having Our Say. The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years” by Sarah (Sadie) L. Delany and her sister Annie Elizabeth (Bessie) Delany, written by Amy Hill Hearth. The Delany Sisters were first introduced to the world when Hearth wrote an article for the New York Times and later accepted a publisher’s offer to write a full-length biography.

The play opens with 101-year-old Dr. Bessie Delany and her sister Sadie, 103, welcoming the audience into their kitchen to listen to the trials and tribulations of their lives. The Delany Sisters are two of a family of 10 children born to an ex-slave minister and his wife.

Sadie earned her master’s degree from Columbia University and went on to become the first black school teacher of domestic science in New York City. Bessie also enjoyed success in New York City by becoming one of only two black, licensed women dentists.

The two centenarian sisters are played by Micki Grant and Lizan Mitchell. Grant plays the older sister, Sadie. Grant admits to feeling “bowled over by the similarities” between Delany’s family and her own.

She said that it has been an affirmation for African-Americans to see the Delanys’ achievements portrayed on stage and a revelation for most of the white audiences.

“When there is a mixed audience,” Grant said, “you get a bigger, freer, fuller response. If a black person laughs, then everyone laughs.” Grant said that “Having Our Say” has been warmly received in all corners.

Grant has noticed that white audiences will experience moments of tension at times, but by the end of the play the tension has turned into appreciation. According to Grant, the audience can see that the Delany Sisters, despite their achievements, were not exempt from the discrimination faced by other blacks. Sadie and Bessie were part of the black middle class that was caught between the white culture that still rejected it and a black underclass that viewed achievement as a betrayal of the race.

Grant believes there is much for youth to learn from two wise, worldly women like Sadie and Bessie Delany.

“The sisters were the first at so many things,” Grant said, “that young people have only to ready themselves to walk through the doors that Sadie and Bessie opened for them.”

The role of Sadie brought along new challenges for Grant, not the least of which was the task of aging several decades. “It’s the first time I’ve had to alter my looks in such a way,” said Grant.

“Having Our Say” will be in Des Moines at the Civic Center for one performance on Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $12/$26/$30. Tickets may be purchased at the Civic Center Box Office and at all Ticket Master outlets. To charge by phone call 233-1888.