Hey Viola! is a musical exploration of civil and women’s rights trailblazer Viola Desmond. From the 1917 Halifax explosion to the civil rights struggles of the 1950s, this extraordinary journey through Viola’s life looks at the impact she had on changing Canadian history. Born in 1914 in Halifax, Viola Desmond was a businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent who challenged racial segregation by refusing to leave the whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre in 1946. That moment spurred a civil rights movement in Canada that posthumously led to Desmond becoming the face of the Canadian $10 bill.