Bronzeville Arts Ensemble’s ‘Chicken and Dumplings’ Traces an American Family’s Journey

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Photo Credit: James Moore Jr.

Who defines what a family is? Does that meaning transform over time? How valuable is it for a story to be told with the wisdom of hindsight? Inspired by her grandmother’s stories, Michelle Dobbs decided to investigate a branch of her family tree and write a book. That historical novel was turned into the play Just a Conversation Over Chicken and Dumplings.

Directed by Sheri Williams Pannell, the Bronzeville Arts Ensemble’s production at the Marcus Center uses the paintings of Dobb’s uncle James Moore Jr. to tell the story of a woman’s journey from a childhood in Rock Island, Ill., during America’s westward expansion. The family’s “proud freeman blood” is worn like a badge, yet social stratification and racism were subtle. The line between freedom before emancipation or after may have been less than visible, but it still mattered greatly to “old settlers”. The similar racism felt by native Americans is entwined in the story.

Narrated by Samantha D. Montgomery’s Lilly Moore (8-year-old Cherell A. Butts as young Samantha is flawless), we learn the struggles she and her family face as well as the subtle arrogance than hangs like a cloud of pride. As Samantha matures into young adulthood, Moore’s paintings are continually presented as backdrops authenticating the family’s story.

The decisions family members made, the sacrifices they endured and the indignities they suffered are supposed to make sense in the end—or at least, we grow up believing so. Half a continent and decades later, the final scene unravels mysteries hiding in plain sight.