That well established maxim of communication—“show, don’t tell”—is a fundamental starting point for any playwright, director, and cast tackling momentous issues of social justice. Indeed, the plays/productions that have had a lasting impact on our thoughts, feelings, and actions have been boldly creative in depicting systemic injustices and their consequences for both society and individuals. Here are a few shining examples.
(in alphabetical order)
Hit the Wall by Ike Holter produced by The Inconvenience in 2012, directed by Eric Hoff. We have always been struck by how a mere handful of actors can effectively depict an entire army of soldiers, a classroom of students, etc. In Ike Holter’s Hit the Wall, about the Stonewall riots in Manhattan in 1969, a relatively small cast somehow brings to life a riotous mob, as well as representative stories of people present at this dawning of the modern gay rights movement. The stellar actors—speaking believable, streetwise dialogue at breakneck pace—reveal the humanity, as well as the humaneness, of their cause. Seven years after we first experienced Hit the Wall, we attended a reunion reading at Steppenwolf’s 1700 venue on 6/28/19 (produced by Ike Holter and Missi Davis), on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. In each encounter with Hit the Wall, we learned a lot from this play, both about its subject matter and about the power of theatre to engage and enthrall us even as it educates and challenges us.
In 2019, we saw a powerhouse student production of Hit the Wall at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (included in our list of favorite college productions), directed by Robert G. Anderson. In addition to the fearless acting and compelling ensemble work, the production was also distinguished by its accessibility—every performance was open-captioned. This took on added import during the moving scene between Cliff (played by Andrew Morrill, who is deaf) and Carson (played by Brandon Burditt, who is not deaf) in which these two phenomenal actors communicated via sign language. We had never seen the integration of signing during a performance executed more effectively, organically, or profoundly. Interesting note: The opening night performance we saw happened to be on the day following a polar vortex, resulting in the exceedingly rare cancellation of classes and other student activities, including the previous evening’s dress rehearsal!
An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a modern riff on Dion Boucicault’s 1859 melodrama The Octoroon, produced by Definition Theatre Company in 2017: The plays we’ve seen by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (such as Appropriate, Gloria, and An Octoroon) include aspects that shock and discomfit, but An Octoroon juxtaposes those elements with hilarious scenes about horrific subjects. Starting with a self-referential framing device in which a Black playwright (named BJJ) recounts advice from his therapist, the play then reenacts portions of Boucicault’s The Octoroon, retaining his characters and dialogue, acted in nineteenth-century melodramatic style. The outrageously exaggerated and uproarious treatment of this story about slavery and racism is interrupted by an unforgettable jolt of brutal reality. The pitch-perfect ensemble cast, led by Breon Arzell and directed by Chuck Smith, grabbed the material with both hands and delivered both the humor and horror to maximum effect. The experience for us as audience members was unlike any other, and certainly illustrated one of the playwright’s quotes in a 2014 interview published by American Theatre: “If you cannot feel angry or upset or, like, scandalized or grossed out or bored in the theatre, where else are you supposed to feel safe to do that?” Interesting reading: Yale professor James Leverett wrote a wide-ranging essay entitled “An Octoroon: The Octoroon” on the occasion of An Octoroon’s 2014 world premiere at Soho Rep. It provides social and historical context for Boucicault’s play (which premiered in New York a couple of days after John Brown was hanged in Harpers Ferry, Virginia).
Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu, a re-imagining of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, produced by Steppenwolf in 2017: One of theatre’s greatest gifts is enabling audience members to figuratively walk in someone else’s shoes—especially if the character’s life experience is significantly different from your own. What made Steppenwolf’s 2017 production of Pass Over unquestionably unique was the visceral sense it conveyed of what it’s like to be unsure of your personal safety at literally every moment of every day, and to be unable to count on institutions supposedly established to protect you. Pass Over gave us 80 minutes to experience vicariously that combination of facing imminent danger and having no societal backstop between you and disaster. This play still affects our outlook and actions to this day. Among the many reviews of Pass Over that we read, the ones that we felt best captured the feel and import of the play were written by two remarkable young actresses: Ireon Roach (just before entering college) and Liv Shine (who had just finished her freshman year in college). Ireon’s review and Liv’s review were both published on the Chicago Inclusion Project’s website. For additional insights into the development of the play and its implications, see the American Theatre interview with the playwright, published in August 2018.
The Shipment by Young Jean Lee, produced by Red Tape Theatre in 2018: Playwright Young Jean Lee wrote The Shipment in collaboration with the original 2009 production’s all-Black cast. The play, about Black identity, puts racial attitudes, stereotypes, and biases (both conscious and unacknowledged) front and center. Performing this play required utter honesty and fearlessness from director Wardell Julius Clark, associate director Sydney Charles, and the entire cast; but what made the play—and Red Tape’s production of it—unique was the fearlessness required on the part of the audience. It was impossible to zone out on questioning and ultimately confronting your own racial attitudes, whether inherited from family and society or arrived at on your own—or most likely a combination of both. It’s hard to imagine anyone engaging with this play and leaving the theatre unchanged. Interesting note: New York Times theatre critic Jesse Green saw Red Tape’s The Shipment and included an account of the experience in his article “How Chicago Is Changing Theater, One Storefront at a Time.” Also of note: The Red Tape production not only had full houses night after night, but remarkable waiting lists as well. For example, the closing-night waiting list was twice the theatre’s capacity. The extraordinary demand was not because of an extensive ad campaign (there was none) or a Jeff recommendation (there was none), but due to the sheer quality and impact of an ingenious script and unflinching production.
