It’s a modern (2014) play based on an old play (1859). It’s a madcap melodrama with a golden-haired hero and a lecherous villain. It’s a chilling statement on race. An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins opened at Artists Repertory Theatre last Saturday. Co-directed by Artist Rep Artistic Director Damaso Rodriguez and Lava Alapai, the play begins […]
Alex Ramirez de Cruz, An Octoroon, Andrea Vernae, antebellum South, Artists Repertory Theatre, Ayanna Berkshire, Brenden Jacobs-Jenkins, Damaso Rodriguez, Dion Boucicault, Jimmy Garcia, John San Nicolas, Joseph Gibson, Josie Seid, Kailey Rhodes, Lava Alapai, melodrama, meta-melodrama, Michael Mendelson, Minstrel shows, racism in America, satire, The OctoroonLewis (Victor Mack) is having a terrible night. A sleepless night. As Tanya Barfield’s signature play, Blue Door, opens on the Profile Theatre stage, Lewis pops up from bed and begins pacing around the room. His white wife (Lewis is black) has left him after 25 years of marriage and has filed for divorce. He […]
Blue Door, Jim Crow, Million Man March, Profile Theatre, racism in America, slavery, Tanya Barfield