Native Son - The American Century Theater

presentation. It wouldn’t have been the first time Orson Welles’ ambitious concepts
undermined a script: by most accounts, his famous production of The Cradle Will
Rock was insanely burdened by gimmicks, effects, and set pieces, and was only
saved when a court order forced the cast to perform opening night without set,
costumes, theatrical lighting, or even a stage. But most observers felt that in Native
Son, Welles’ flamboyant presentation was an asset, not a detriment.
Even with its visual and auditory magic tricks, its rave reviews, the epic
performance of star Canada Lee, and the kind of controversy that warms the
cockles of any producer’s heart (the show was picketed by both the Urban League
and the Communist Party), Native Son achieved only moderate box office success.
Like Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal, another terrific, hard-edged social protest play
that frightens off more audiences than it attracts, Native Son the play ended up in
the script file labeled “too hot to handle,” as companies opted instead to mount
shows like its 1941 Broadway competition, Arsenic and Old Lace. As tough as
Wright’s novel is, live theater makes it seem tougher, more personal, closer, and
harder to forget. The same features that make Native Son a remarkable play all but
ensured its obscurity.
Director’s Notes
Jack Marshall, Artistic Director
It was as if that great rush of anger had washed me clean, emptied me of
hope, and, gazing up at the dark sky spangled with its signs and stars, for
the first time, the first, I laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the
universe. To feel it so like myself, indeed, so brotherly, made me realize that
I’d been happy, and that I was happy still. For all to be accomplished, for
me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my
execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should
greet me with howls of execration.
—Albert Camus in The Stranger
translated from the French by Stuart Gilbert, 1942
More than 25 years after first reading Wright’s novel, I find myself searching for
what it has to say to us today. From its meager beginnings—sheared to nothing
more than a salacious detective story and book-of-the-month club sensation to
Orson Welles’ famed Mercury Theatre production to its overdue 1991 literary
restoration—Native Son continues to haunt America’s struggle to make sense of
its racist history. The problem? America’s worst fear—Bigger Thomas, a man who
refuses to accept his condition, who unearths freedom by the basest of means, an
accidental dissenter who Wright declares “will not become an ardent, or even a
lukewarm, supporter of the status quo.” Wright bequeaths America an anti-hero
who responds to horror with horror, an unapologetic and arguably reckless creation,
incapable of advancing the cause of racial and economic equality.
As I approached directing Native Son, I considered, among many things, how as a
species we respond to entrapment. Do we tremble in fear like a cornered rat? Do
we run? Do we submit to our maddening fate, trying our best to comprehend it?
Or do we fight back—lash out and strike everything within our furious reach?
Bob Bartlett, Director
The Company
Reneé Charlow (Hannah Thomas) has appeared as Sonya in Sassy Sonya’s
24-Karat Gold Revue (a writing/directing commission from Maryland–National
Capital Parks), Georgia in Exonerated, Louise in Waiting To Be Invited, Ruth in
A Raisin in the Sun, and Calonice in Lysistrata. Her last TACT role was Lily in
Porgy. TV/film: HBO’s The Wire, Hannibal, and Bones. Directing credits: A Raisin
in the Sun, Indigos, Short Stack, Antigone, and A Tribute to August Wilson. Reneé
is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Bowie State University.
Evan Crump (Jan Erlone) has performed Talbott in The Other Room (Kennedy
Center), Yepikhodov in Cherry Orchard (WSC), and Richard Miller in Ah,
Wilderness! (TACT). His first love is Shakespeare: favorite roles are King
Richard in Richard II, Orlando in As You Like It, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek in
Twelfth Night.
JaBen A. Early (Bigger Thomas) appeared onstage most recently in The Death of
Bessie Smith at Liberty Free Theatre. He produced, as well as acted in, the just–
completed feature film by Streamline Filmworks, Money Matters. Other roles include
Alec in Spell Number Seven, Orestes, and several male roles in Marisol. JaBen
studied Drama at Morehouse College and holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence.
John Geoffrion (David A. Buckley) appeared with TACT as Simeon in Desire
Under the Elms. Other area credits include Gayev in The Cherry Orchard,
Graleo in Peace, Rochfort in Red Noses, Sydney in Kafka’s Dick, and Prince
Charles in Edward III (WSC); God #2 in Good Woman of Setzuan and multiple
roles in Arabian Nights (Constellation); John Houseman in War of the Worlds
(Scena); Winston in 1984 (Meat & Potato Theatre); and Psychiatrist in Terrorism
(Studio Secondstage). John received his MFA in Acting from Catholic University
of America.
Megan Graves (Miss Emmet/Stenographer) returns to TACT after appearing as
Mary Skinner in Life With Father. Recent area credits include Hansel and Gretel,
The Importance of Being Earnest, Hamlet: Part II, Red vs. the Wolf, Father of the
Bride, A Christmas Carol, and To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Megan can also
be seen in a recurring role as storyteller at Hooray for Books! in Alexandria and is
pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English and theatre.
Iman Hassen (Vera Thomas) last appeared in an area production of Museum. Other
performances include When Sex Isn’t Enuf!, Gabriela in References to Salvador
Dali Make Me Hot, Norma Jean in The Colored Museum, and Lady in Red/Lady in
Blue in For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.
Iman assistant directed the film, A Month to Live. She participated in the V-Day
initiative, performing the Vagina Monologues. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from
Virginia Tech.
Abbreviations for area theatres—
LTA, Little Theatre of Alexandria
TACT, The American Century Theater
WSC, Washington Shakespeare Company