By Dwight Casimere
The Tony-Award nominated playwright Christina Anderson’s new play, “the ripple, the wave that carried me home,” in World Premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre now through February 12th in the Owen Theatre, begins with the central character, Janice (Goodman veteran Christina Clark), holding a simple glass of water.
She begins her monologue, which details her family history, and the significance of water in it. Suddenly, what starts out as a simple symbolic object, takes on a much larger and more complex meaning.
As Janice puts it, “In a way, we are it…water. One can say each of us—every man, woman, and small child—is a small river…My family, my ancestry, is a TREE of small rivers.”
The story, set in a fictional mid-western town, Beacon, Kansas, details the troubled racial history of a family through the history of segregated swimming in America.
It is also a larger look at the issue of segregation and racial strife through the prism of one family’s desire to bring swimming opportunity to the black communities in mid-20th century America.
The ebb and flow of the Collen family’s struggles are reflective of society’s own efforts to grapple with the issues of race, while dealing with conflicts within their own family and culture.
The social and personal demons are everywhere. Not only are Black people separate from the white people. The Blacks are divided among themselves. The economically better off middle-class Blacks, which Janice calls the “Thinking Class,” look down their noses at the poorer Blacks, which she calls “The Necessity Class.”
Janice’s mom’s family was from the ‘Thinking Side of town,’ while her dads was from ‘The Necessities.”
There are three public pools in Beacon. Two are for the white people, but only one for the Black people. I don’t have to tell you that the Black pool leaves much to be desired.
Enter Janice’s father, Edwin Collen, who decides in 1956 Beacon, Kansas, that it would be a good idea for every little Black child, regardless of background, to learn how to swim for free. It was a simple idea, but a radical one that would rattle the foundation of not only the town of Beacon, Kansas, but Janice’s own family’s as well.
Playwright Anderson does a masterful job of interweaving a complex series of social and moral issues into an artfully crafted quilt of a story. It looks simplistic on the surface, but takes a deeper look, and the complexities are there.
The play is sort of like a body of water. It appears peaceful and calm on the surface, but look beneath, and there is layer upon layer of undercurrents.
The story is set in motion when Janice’s father, Edwin, played with gusto by Ronald L. Conner, schemes with his pals to integrate to local whites only pool. What begins as a hilarious prank, eventually morphs into a monumental tragedy that engulfs the entire town and casts a long shadow over the chain of events.
Conner returns to Goodman after last being seen in ‘Incendiary, directed by Henry Cole.
In Anderson’s “the ripple,” the symbolism of water and its role in segregated swimming is a persistent reminder of the disparities and humiliations suffered by Blacks.
There are also moments of joy expressed in the play’s brilliant characterizations.
Brianna Buckley opens the play as the ‘Young Chipper Ambitious Black Woman’ who consistently pricks Janice’s conscience throughout the play. Buckley also plays the hilarious Aunt Gayle.
Buckley previously appeared in Goodman’s “How to Catch Creation” and in several New Stage productions.
Aneisa Hicks gives a stellar performance as the mother, Helen Collen. She returns to Goodman after last being seen in “graveyard shift.”
Anderson is currently working on a series of plays that explore the four elements of air, water, fire, and earth, as they relate to the Black Experience. “The ripple,” is a co-commission with Berkeley Rep.
Next up at the Goodman, Lydia R. Diamond’s Toni Stone, directed by Ron OJ Parson, Jan. 28-Feb. 26. It is the sensational true story of the first woman to play professional baseball by breaking into the Negro Leagues. For more information, visit Goodmantheatre.org.
Black History Month starts February 1st, this would be a great play to add to your month long celebration.