Photo Credit: Ross Zentner
A large tree, tightly encased in yards and yards of ropes, dominates the set of Next Act Theatre’s excoriating Blood at the Root, a play by noted author Dominique Morisseau. The play focuses on real-life events surrounding the “Jena Six”—six black teenagers convicted in the beating of a white student in Jena, La., during a period of high tension after three nooses had been hung from a tree on their high school’s property. Morisseau’s play about this 2006 incident carries a powerful message about social prejudice and systematic injustice.
Dubbed by its playwright as a “choreopoem,” Blood at the Root takes the audience through a whirlwind of emotions. The dialogue is interspersed by bits of choreography and poetry. The play takes its title from a line in the late Billie Holiday’s best-known song, “Strange Fruit,” which ponders lynchings.
Director Marti Gobel brings the story to life with a cast of six young people: three girls and three boys. The students, both black and white, must come to terms with where they stand on an issue they didn’t create but are now deeply involved in. They stage protests when the school’s administration tries to write off the nooses as merely a “prank.” At the same time, the district attorney is treating the school beating as an adult offense. What are the students to think about this?
Standouts in the cast include Raylynn (Chante Miller), who is running as the school’s first black candidate for school president. Her views about racism puts her at odds with one of her best friends, a white girl named Asha (April Paul). Also caught in the crossfire of the Jena Six case is Casey Hoekstra as Colin, the school quarterback who is victimized by the black male students. The cast also includes Ibraheem Farmer, Grace DeWolff and Justin Lee.
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The audience cannot help but sympathize with the adolescents, who are trying to figure out their own identities within the context of a racist environment. This fast-paced show moves with a beat. Choreographer Alicia Rice delivers some edgy moves that punctuate the script, while director Gobel also contributes as “movement and stomp director.” The actors perform the dance movements flawlessly. At one point in the play, Asha wonders why they must deal with the effects of racism. Her black friend sums it up: “If we don’t know how to connect to a problem that ain’t your own, we all screwed.”
Through Feb. 24 at Next Act Theatre. For tickets, visit nextact.org or call 414-278-0765.
