After being kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery, Solomon Northup uses his skills and carefully placed trust to survive and seek a way back to his family.
- Scenes 1–29
Solomon lives freely in Saratoga as a husband, father, worker, and musician.
- Scene 30
Solomon is drugged and abducted in New York, abruptly ending his free life and beginning his captivity.
- Scene 31
After Solomon is drugged and abducted in scene 30, he wakes in chains and discovers that he has been stolen from his free life.
- Just before
- Scene 51
At Norfolk, Burch and Radburn add more captives, including battered Arthur and watchful Robert, then leave; Solomon glares after them as they sail on.
- Scene 52
The captain assigns the captives shipboard labor: Robert is sent to cook, while Solomon must haul and clean despite explaining his skills.
- Scene 53
Solomon cleans the galley and studies Robert’s confident knife work as the captives cook.
- Scene 54
This scene
