Review of Clybourne Park at The Guthrie Theater

Quote of the Day:  Isn't it nice to know that everyone has their own place (in society). line from the character Karl Lindner in Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris

We just need to find out what each other likes to eat. Bev, Act 1 of Clybourne Park.

Humans are territorial. I think this was Steve's line in Act 2.

I'm not resistant to change, as long as it's for the better. Karl Lindner

Clybourne Park, Act 1, setting 1959

 

Shá Cage (Francine), Ansa Akyea (Albert), Jim Lichtscheidl (Karl), Kathryn Meisle (Bev) and Emily Gunyou Halaas (Betsy) in the Guthrie Theater's production of Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris. Directed by Lisa Peterson, set design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by David Zinn and lighting design by Mark Barton. June 1, 2013 - August 4, 2013 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

 

Bruce Norris was inspired by Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, which was made into a movie in 1961. As a young white male growing up in the South, he was stunned to see a play/movie where all the main characters were black, and the only white character was the villain, Karl Lindner. Years later, the playwright who hails from Houston, Texas, wrote about what was happening on the other side of town. He focused on the family who was moving out of their house in Clybourne Park, Bev and Russ, and gave them their own story.

 

Kathryn Meisle (Bev) and Bill McCallum (Russ) in the Guthrie Theater's production of Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris. Directed by Lisa Peterson, set design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by David Zinn and lighting design by Mark Barton. June 1, 2013 - August 4, 2013 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

 

The couple is dealing with their own pain and need for change. This house and neighborhood hold too many memories, and they decide to sell and move on. Karl, and other neighbors, don't like this change. They're worried about how it will start a snowball of change, and not for the better. Act 1, set in 1959, shows us how deep-seated prejudices and stereotypes go. So much so, that your neighbor might try to convince you to not sell your home to folks who are different. He might even go to their home and encourage them to reconsider the move. None of it will stop people from doing what they need to do, nor will it stop the world from changing, hopefully, for the better.

Ansa Akyea (Kevin) and Shá Cage (Lena)

Act 2, 2009, Clybourne Park

 

Jump ahead to 2009, same house, same neighborhood, some things have changed, and some things never will. Neighbors are still trying to tell each other what they can and can't do with their property. Now, they hold "civilized" meetings and hold back on their racist words...or do they?

 

Bill McCallum (Dan), Jim Lichtscheidl (Steve) and Emily Gunyou Halaas (Lindsey)

 

 

When Bev and Russ move out of this house in 1959, they try to bury the past, in the form of the above trunk. In 2009, it is rediscovered. All the memories, the events, and the souls that occupied this home, continue to float through the rooms. You can't bury the past and hope to forget it. It has become part of who you are, where you live, and your community.

 

 Ansa Akyea (Kevin), Emily Gunyou Halaas (Lindsey) and Jim Lichtscheidl (Steve) in the Guthrie Theater's production of Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris. Directed by Lisa Peterson, set design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by David Zinn and lighting design by Mark Barton. June 1, 2013 - August 4, 2013 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

 

The actors do an amazing job of bringing real emotion to life during this play. They show how hurt we are by each other, our prejudices, and the acts of those who have paved the way, for better and for worse. I've often wondered what stories an old house could tell. Playwright Bruce Norris must wonder the same thing and gives us one story of one house which is fiction, yet so real.

 

Clybourne Park is playing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, June 1 through August 4, 2013. Recommended for a more mature audience due to strong, possibly offensive, language.

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  What would be buried in your old trunk? Does your home have a story?