Photo: First Stage
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
On Sept. 15, 1963, white supremacists bombed a Black church in Birmingham, Ala., killing four young girls. At a time when most Americans witnessed the same facts each night on broadcast news, the murders helped galvanize the civil rights movement whose immediate goal involved dismantling enforced segregation and the disenfranchisement of Black voters in the South. Still elusive are the movement’s long-range goals for a society where, as Martin Luther King Jr. put it, people “will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
Given the events of the past five years, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 seems timely, less history lesson than reflection on the ongoing struggle for human dignity. The story was originally a semi-autobiographical novel by Paul Curtis about a Black family’s road trip from Michigan to Alabama at a time when Southern police as well as terrorists targeted Black and white supporters of civil rights. The Watsons was turned into a Hallmark movie and then adapted for the stage by Cheryl L. West.
Photo: First Stage
Jeff Frank - First Stage
Jeff Frank
First Stage’s production of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 alternates between two casts, each including adult and child actors representing the multigenerational family. “There is humor and deep emotion, but it is the depth of love that the family has for one another that sees them through—so the connection between performers was critical,” says codirector Jeff Frank. “The chemistry has been a wonderful thing to behold.”
Codirector Brandite Reed describes the play’s setting as a time when “our world was undergoing insurmountable changes. Paradigms were shifting and like any other period of time in our history some people were resistant to our world changing. This group of people took drastic measures to demonstrate resistance.
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Photo: First Stage
Brandite Reed - First Stage
Brandite Reed
“When I think about the lives that were so senselessly taken as a result of these church bombings during the civil rights era, I often think of the many senseless killings of BIPOC people because of one’s inability to process change. If I were to have co-directed this piece 10-15 years ago, there would have been different issues in our world but unfortunately some of the same undertones of the 1960s civil rights era. There will always be a sense of urgency as long as people struggle with change.”
In the family’s journey from north to south, a variety of perspectives are heard. “Each of the characters—family members—are symbolic in some way of the different points of view of the plot that is so flawlessly interwoven with the issues of the time period,” Reed explains. “This play deals with a really dark part of American history however, it is uniquely centered around a family and it’s strong roots. The Watsons have a weird way of loving one another through the hatred and heaviness of what is taking place around them.”
Does The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 have an easy takeaway message? “I don’t know what you think Brandi—but I never like to think of a play conveying a message,” says Frank. “Rather I like to hope that our plays give folks some things to talk about—that the plays provoke thought and inspire conversations. In this case, I hope audiences leave talking about 1963 vs. today. What has changed? What is similar? What does it mean to be a family? How can a family love and support one another? When and how do we engage with our young people in difficult but necessary conversations?”
First Stage performs The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 Jan. 21-Feb. 13 at the Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater. For more, visit firststage.org.
