The Arts in New York City

Suzan-Lori Parks’ “In The Blood” is a riveting play, ultimately concerned with the effects and existence of hypocrisy within human social systems. The questions posed are difficult and demand that we, the audience, examine the answers within ourselves as well as within the society as a whole. While “In The Blood” takes on the qualities of a sophisticated, truthful and certainly socially critical play, Mary Beth Easly, working together with the Brooklyn College Theatre Department, found the compelling nuances between a performance with great depth and yet a sense of genuine humor that keeps the audience engaged and entertained.
The opening night of “In The Blood” at the New Workshop Theater at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College was a great success. As a diverse crowd of people surged into the theater, I was unsure what to expect from the play having such a dark title, since I wasn’t familiar with the play beforehand. A marvelous, truly captivating set awaited me in the theatre. Sitting down, the audience got the sense of sitting beneath a rusty New York bridge looking onto the conglomerated home of a struggling mother with five children, all let to believe that they are related by blood besides their different ethnicities. Parks allows the audience to be part of Hester’s life and her struggle to provide for her children while trying to find her own happiness in a society that does nothing but abuse and exploit her as an effect of her low social status. Hester, the protagonist of the play (beautifully performed by Latonia Phipps – an MFA Acting student at Brooklyn College), is an African American woman who sacrifices everything for the good of her children and yet desires to find fulfillment within herself. As an audience member, one is almost forced to draw the connection to relevant issues today – sexual harassment, exploitation of the poor and poor programs in regards to healthcare and social welfare are issues that make “In The Blood” such a heavy, relevant play. I found myself truly connected to Hester’s character and against my hopes to experience a happy ending for her, the play ended in a rather depressing but very truthful way. I left the theatre bearing in mind that I was the spectator to a dramatic literary piece however I felt intrigued to ask myself how relevant the questions raised and events within the play are true in the reality of the society I am part of. I believe Parks has written a very complex, riveting play, which the Brooklyn College Theatre Department succeeded in performing in an exceptional, truthful way.
Undoubtedly the performance of “In The Blood” encourages one to be critical and thoughtful, I found that the nine actors and Mary Beth Easley, the director, put together a performance of great entertainment balancing the addressing of social issues with a great sense of humor and some outstanding artistic performances by the actors. As an aspiring actress myself, I might have a more critical eye for an actor’s truthful performance in a play, but “In The Blood” took my breath because the evident professionalism the nine undergrad- as well as grad-students brought into their performance and how truly compelled I felt as an audience member. The actors playing Hester’s children, all faced the challenge to take on another character in the play in addition. With only short breaks in between, most of them had to shake off the characteristics and habits of their “child character” and take on a much more mature, complex and rather wicked one. One actor who grabbed one’s attention was Mack Exilus, a second-year BFA acting student, who during the show frequently changed between playing a clumsy toddler and a corrupt preacher who Hester finds out is the father of Baby, the clumsy toddler. In all, an outstanding job was done in casting “In The Blood” because the chemistry among the cast and the immense talent were genuinely undeniable.
Plays like Suzan-Lori Parks’ “In The Blood” are one key to point out issues that are often brushed under the surface by society and yet should be addressed to make a change. Only aware individuals can truly make a change. Other projects the Brooklyn Theatre Department is currently working on include: Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull”, Wendy Lill’s “Fighting Days” and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s “The Mystery Plays”.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 10th, 2007 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Anna-Maja Rappard, WRITING ASSIGNMENTS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.