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A black man and a white woman encounter each other on a New York subway. The meeting goes from casual conversation to overt flirtation to deliberate confrontation - and a rising tide of anger envelopes both characters before the ride is over. Of course, if seen from a certain perspective (or from a certain seat on that subterranean ferry), the ride never really ends at all ...
In 1964, the Off-Broadway world was stunned by Dutchman, a play written by African-American playwright LeRoi Jones. Jones (who subsequently took the name Amiri Baraka) had not only tapped into the racial issues of that turbulent decade, he had fashioned a drama that drew upon the eternal imagery and force of tragic myths. One critic at the time said Dutchman was rivaled only by Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra for its evocation of classical Greek tragedy.
The Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company is now staging Dutchman at the Furniture Factory in Detroit. We asked Artistic Director Frannie Shepherd-Bates and Executive Director LoriGoe Nowak to bring more light to the interior of that fatal subway car.
Why this particular work?
Frannie: We chose to produce Dutchman this season because we feel that it will jumpstart a discussion about race and identity that Detroiters need to have. The play was written in 1964; it should not still be relevant, but it is. And that, we feel, demands that it be produced, talked about, and used to spur people to action.
Many critics stated that Baraka wrote more than just a polemic about race relations - that this is actually a modern Greek tragedy. Agree or disagree?
LoriGoe: I absolutely agree. Dutchman is a play and as such, is meant to be played, not read. When costumes, makeup, song, dance and action are added to a text, a living story unfolds. This production has an ensemble akin to a Greek chorus as well as a live electronic score that changes with the actions on stage. Through vaudevillian choreography, we see that our hero, Clay, chooses inaction; a mistake resulting in his own downfall. A true Greek tragedy.
Will contemporary audiences see it as being more about sex than race?
LoriGoe: More so gender than sex, and more so identity than either gender or race. Throughout the play Lula questions Clay's manhood and goes so far as to say at one point that she, herself, is more 'the man.' The muddling of gender and of race (Clay expresses that he once thought of himself as Baudelaire, an expression for which Lula ridicules him), underscores the principal issue of identity.
Whatever happened to Baraka? Is he still writing plays?
Baraka last published a play in 1979, but is still writing prose and poems. He lives in Newark, New Jersey and runs Blue-Ark: The Word Ship, a jazz and poetry ensemble.
Now this next question has to be phrased carefully: Is Baraka delivering a message that could be construed as misogynistic by some members of the audience? A female African-American professor at Howard University once stated that she couldn't abide the play because she felt it magnified a crucial problem for black men - their fear of strong women, white or black.
LoriGoe: I find HER observation more offensive than any possible misogynistic message in "Dutchman." That sort of blanket statement slaps a label on all black men that will be hard to wipe off. In the beginning of the play, Clay is not fearful of Lula; any fear comes from the possibility that there are people on the subway car who are against interracial fraternization. Further, Lula alludes to her own 'masculinity' and then questions Clay’s 'manhood' - two actions blurring the ‘roles' of man and woman.
As the play progresses, Lula cajoles and confuses, then prods and ridicules – a natural progression to inciting fear and violent action from Clay, a point he fails to reach (or chooses not to). Lula’s words and actions would incite hate from anyone – but what is her reason for doing this? While many view Lula’s character as crazy, we have to examine her actions and find her intention – there’s always more to the story.
And finally, the inevitable question - how does the play "play out" now that we have an African-American president?
LoriGoe: The president presides over millions of people of every ethnic background, gender, and sexual orientation. He must represent each as well as (ideally) the whole.. In this play, emphasis is on male/female, black/white; not on unity and equal representation. While Martin Luther King Jr. preached peace and unity, Malcolm X preached violence and separation of races - and Baraka believed in the latter. The play 'argues' against the notion of unity, but ironically pushes the audience to question that stance. It is important to note, however, that while the words of this play cannot be changed, the opinions and thoughts of the author may always be evolving.
For additional information on the production of Dutchman, which runs from Oct. 23- Nov. 22 at the Furniture Factory in Detroit, contact Frannie Shepherd-Bates or visit www.magentagiraffe.org.
ABOUT Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company - The Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization that acts to eliminate apathy, violence, prejudice and barriers to education through theatre productions, projects and programs; and further acts to reestablish and expand Detroit’s theatre district. Dutchman by Amiri Baraka, directed by LoriGoe Nowak, Executive Director, is the theatre’s second production.
