2. Did you predict the play would end as it did? Is there anything Lincoln could have done differently to save his own life and help his brother? Do you think all of the characters in the play were exercising their own free will or were they “hustled”? 3. Do you believe in fate? Or do you believe that life is all about the choices you make? Is it luck, destiny or something else that dictates the path of your existence?
MASCULINE IDENTITY “They say the clothes make the man,” Lincoln explains in Scene 2 of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog. “All day long I wear that getup. But that dont make me who I am.” The Lincoln of Parks’ play earns his living by pretending to be another man by the same name — the 16th president of the United States. But this Lincoln is not a white politician from the mid-19th century. He is a black man living here and now who, with his brother, coincidentally named Booth, is trying to make his way in the world. Both characters want to play the alpha male, but the characters’ identities as brothers and as black men are tightly wrapped up in their relationship to each other and their society. As the younger brother, Booth is often fixated on autonomy and being his own man, out of his older brother’s shadow. He is frustrated by his brother’s critique of his 3-card monte hustle, but yet still wants to team up and work together, something Lincoln refuses to do. He holds over Lincoln the fact that their mother, who abandoned them, actually gave him advance warning and entrusted him with looking after Lincoln. But over time, Booth has grown resentful of this, too. “She told me to look out for you,” Booth reminds Lincoln in Scene 1. “I told her I was the little brother and the big brother should look out after the little brother. She just said it again. That I should look out for you. Yeah. So who gonna look out for me. Not like you care.” Booth further asserts his dominance in their living space by reminding Lincoln of his financial obligations. The room is technically Booth’s home and Lincoln, having been kicked out by his wife, Cookie, is only supposed to be a temporary house guest. Booth reminds Lincoln that his situation is precarious and that any number of transgressions could be cause for eviction. Lincoln owes Booth in more ways than one. “Yr lucky I let you stay,” Booth warns his brother. “Every Friday you come home with yr paycheck. Today is Thursday and I tell you brother, its a long way from Friday to Friday. All kinds of things can happen. All kinds of bad feelings can surface and erupt while yr little brother waits for you to bring in yr share” (Scene 1). Lincoln is on more solid footing with his brother at the beginning of Scene 2 by bringing home a wad of cash, never a small feat when he is being paid less than the white man who was his predecessor as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator. Lincoln is not the only one doing an impersonation of sorts. Booth claims that he will take on a new name, thus reinventing his identity, but Lincoln undercuts his brother’s boasts:
Original production of Topdog/Underdog at The Public Theater (2001), starring Don Cheadle as Booth and Jeffrey Wright as Lincoln
A NOTE ON STYLE Suzan-Lori Parks uses experimental conventions in the format of her writing, some of which appear in the quoted excerpts from Topdog/Underdog in this curriculum guide. Parks describes these conventions as follows: • (Rest) – Take a little time, a pause, a breather; make a transition. • A Spell – An elongated and heighted (Rest). Denoted by repetition of figures’ names with no dialogue. Has sort of an architectural look: Lincoln Booth Lincoln Booth This is a place where the figures experience their pure true simple state. While no action or stage business is necessary, directors should fill this moment as they best see fit. • Brackets [ ] – in the text indicate optional cuts for production. • Parentheses ( ) – around dialogue indicate softly spoken passages (asides; sotto voce).
Booth: Don’t be calling me Booth no more, K? Lincoln: You changing yr name? Booth: Maybe. Lincoln Booth Lincoln: What to? Booth: I’m not ready to reveal it yet. Lincoln: You already decided on something. Booth: Maybe. Lincoln: You gonna call yrself something african? That be cool. Only pick something thats easy to spell and pronounce, man, cause you know, some of them african names, I mean, ok, Im down with the power to the people thing, but, no TOPDOG/UNDERDOG CURRICULUM GUIDE
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