"Black Boy": A review
by Sara Kelm, Guest Reporter
When Homecoming week comes around, you can be sure that exciting things will happen so Fox can brag to alums about how the university is growing and changing. "Black Boy" was one of those things, a special theatre performance sponsored by the Theatre Department and the Department of Multicultural Services. The one-act, one-man show is based on Richard Wright's 1945 biography and concerns "Wright's dawning awareness of racism and the power of the written word." Charles Holt portrayed Wright and a host of other characters in the hour-long performance on Friday and Saturday night, February 8 and 9, 2008.
"Black Boy" played to a mostly full house in Wood-Mar Auditorium on Saturday night. The set and lighting were simple. The curtain was drawn, and the only set pieces were a bench, a stool, a table, and a chair. Holt came out, dressed in period clothing. Over the course of the hour, he played numerous characters, ranging from a young 5-year-old boy to that boy's grandmother. He played both white and black characters, males and females, giving each a distinct style of speech and mannerisms. He did a powerful job of capturing each person, making the characters recognizable and yet relatable.
As for the play itself, I wasn't overly impressed with the script. It seemed rather disjointed. I understand the challenge of reducing a 450-page autobiography to a one-hour show. And yet, as an audience member, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to come away with. The themes-racial prejudice, relationships, and the thirst for knowledge- seemed too broad for such a small performance; I felt like we barely touched on each of them. I don't know that I got a full look at Richard Wright and his life.
The fact that the play was written in present tense really made the action more immediate and dynamic, especially because there was little "action" with only one man, playing off of himself. I enjoyed some lines of the play; they had a poetry I assume was written by Wright himself. I understand what Wright meant when he talked about the hunger of learning, and seeing words as both the gateway to a forbidden and enchanting land and a bridge between himself and the outside world. When Wright stated he wanted to fight with words, I understood the strength of that, understanding the power that words contain.
I feel that "Black Boy" was a novel endeavor, one that I hope George Fox does again. It was an interesting look at the life of a black boy around the turn of the century. I find myself interested in who Wright was and what he wrote. I would like to research him further, which I think was one of the goals of the show. My night at the theatre was a night well-spent.