Trayvon Martin's Final Moments Take Center Stage in New Play
The play takes a look at the last seven minutes of the 17-year-old's life.
![Stanley Morrison, from left, Amir Randall and Julian Darden act out a scene as director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj watches during a rehearsal for The Ballad of Trayvon Martin at the New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia, May 10, 2016. The play, about the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, opens Thursday.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/AP_trayvon_martin5_cf_160512_16x9_992.jpg?w=1600)
— -- Four years after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, a controversial new play explores the teen's final moments.
The incident that left a nation divided and gave birth to the Black Lives Matter movement takes center stage in "The Ballad of Trayvon Martin," which is co-written by Thomas Soto and award-winning playwright and activist Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj.
"'The Ballad of Trayvon Martin' is a poetic docudrama with music inspired by events surrounding the death of teenager Trayvon Martin," Maharaj told ABC News. "It takes a look at the last seven minutes of Trayvon's life as he lays under the tarp. We also see how his life and legacy inspired the 'Black Lives Matter' movement."
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/AP_trayvon_martin1_cf_160512.jpg)
Martin was returning to a relative's house after leaving a convenience store when he was shot by Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, on Feb. 26, 2012.
Prosecutors accused Zimmerman of profiling Martin as a criminal, possibly because of his race, and following him with a loaded gun. Zimmerman maintained that he shot Martin in self-defense after he was knocked to the ground and Martin was banging his head against the pavement. Zimmerman has a Hispanic mother and a white father. Martin was black.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/AP_trayvon_martin2_cf_160512.jpg)
A Florida jury found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in July 2013. The trial sparked rallies across the country and created a national debate over law enforcement deaths of black men and boys.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/AP_trayvon_martin3_cf_160512.jpg)
Regardless of one's position on the shooting incident, Maharaj says his goal is to inspire.
"I hope [viewers] understand that until we acknowledge our shared painful past, there can be no true reconciliation in our country," Maharaj said, "and I hope they walk away knowing that we all are Trayvon Martin."
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/AP_trayvon_martin4_cf_160512.jpg)
The 1-hour, 45-minute play is now showing at Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia and runs until May 22.
ABC News' Brian McBride and Catherine Thorbecke contributed to this report.