Plays About Family Legacy Our regular column on plays that have recently become available for licensing focuses in this issue on works that examine the relationships of parents and children. by Zackary Ross
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ike many parents during the pandemic, I spent the last year working from home and overseeing my child’s virtual education. With my son’s kindergarten schoolwork consuming only about an hour and a half a day and all other outside-the-house activities on hold, he
and I spent considerably more time together than before. As the world begins to open and his experience broadens beyond his day-to-day existence at my side, I have been thinking about the lasting effect our time together will have and, on a bigger scale, the legacy that parents leave their children. What follows is a collection of plays that explore the concept of legacy and how our relationships with our kids are often dictated by the past. To develop the following list of suggested titles, we surveyed major play publishers’ offerings during recent months. Following each description, you’ll find information about the cast breakdown and a referral to the publisher who holds the rights. False Creeds, by Darren Canady When he receives a memory box full of photos and articles about the Tulsa race riots from his grandmother, Jason slowly comes to terms with his family’s tragic past. Seeing the riots through her eyes, Jason witnesses the unfolding of events as the young girl’s parents are swept up in the massacre. The play celebrates the importance of family history and honors those who find a way to survive an unspeakable tragedy. Cast breakdown: 4 women; 2 men (all Black/African descent) Publisher: Concord Theatricals www.concordtheatricals.com God Said This, by Leah Nanako Winkler When Masako is diagnosed with cancer, her daughters Hiro and Sophie return to Kentucky to comfort and care for her. Unfortunately, the reunion reawakens family dysfunction. Amidst the crisis, family and friends contemplate their mortality and the legacy they leave behind for their children. This compelling drama serves as a sequel to Winkler’s earlier play Kentucky, about Hiro’s last disastrous trip home for her sister’s wedding. Cast breakdown: 3 women (Japanese/ Japanese American); 2 men (white/
4 x Southern Theatre x Fall 2021
European descent) Publisher: Dramatists Play Service www.dramatists.com Mud Row, by Dominique Morisseau After inheriting her grandmother Elsie’s house in the African American section of West Chester, PA, Regine and her husband Davin arrive to get the house ready for sale, only to find her sister Toshi and her boyfriend Tyriek living there. Decades earlier, Elsie and her sister Frances had clashed over their profoundly different personalities and approaches to life. Alternating between past and present, the play examines the internal rifts that sometimes exist between sisters and the struggle to come to terms with one’s shared heritage. Cast breakdown: 4 women; 2 men (all Black/African descent) Publisher: Concord Theatricals www.concordtheatricals.com Other People’s Happiness, by Adam Seidel On a family fishing trip in northern Wisconsin, John and Sara’s three-decadelong marriage begins to crumble when Sara announces she’s taken a lover. As the couple and their adult children come together to deal with the bombshell, old
wounds surface, and the parents’ romantic troubles begin to taint their children’s relationships. Cast breakdown: 2 women; 2 men (all any ethnicity) Publisher: Broadway Play Publishing www.broadwayplaypub.com Under the Skin, by Michael Hollinger Aging father Lou desperately needs a kidney. His estranged daughter Raina is a match, but she is unsure if she wants to save his life as her anger and resentment toward her father have been building for a lifetime. When Raina meets Jarrell, another potential donor, their immediate connection complicates her decision in this comedy about what we owe our parents and our children. Cast breakdown: 2 women (1 Black/ African descent, 1 white/European descent); 2 men (1 Black/African descent, 1 white/European descent) Publisher: Dramatists Play Service www.dramatists.com n Zackary Ross (he/him) is an associate professor of theatre and arts administration program director at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. He is a member of the Southern Theatre Editorial Board.
