The department of theater at Brooklyn College brings for the end of March a spectacular performance, directed by Jonathon Musser, called The Gingham Dog.
Touching on topics such as interracial love, marriage, and values, the play—written by Lanford Wilson, a well-known playwright awarded with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980 and elected to the Theater Hall of Fame in 2001—revolves around a liberal white Southern man, named Vincent, and a progressive black woman named Gloria, from Harlem, whose marriage is unfortunately torn apart because of their differences.
Written and set in 1968, the once hopeful young married couple who used to be madly in love is questioned whether their love can endure during times of division, uncertainty and much violence.
“It’s a very violent and hateful first act,” explained Musser, adding that the couple says “terrible things to each other—racial slurs and beyond.” Suggested for kids 10 and up, the second act promises to be a much more serene one.
“It’s a good question to ask: what are we doing today to farther ourselves from the 60’s?” noted Musser, saying that we’ve come a long way since then. “It has a lot to do with the civil rights movement,” remarked the director, as well as with the women’s rights movement.
“Gloria is a very educated woman,” Musser noted, who wants to get a Master degree in psychology. She used to be a child’s psychologist in the public school system and wishes to utilize her intelligence to break the stereotypical view of the stay-at-home woman. Vincent, however, wants her at home cooking and cleaning.
“Our 44th president is African American,” added Musser, reinstating that we’ve come a long way since those times, but that we must not “stop there and think that it’s all taken care of.”
The life and legacy of Wilson be also be celebrated, who passed away two years ago.
Tickets for The Gingham Dog are $10 for general admission; students pay $7. Performances will take place from March 21 through March 24 (Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.) at the New Workshop Theater on the Brooklyn College Campus, located on Campus Road between Hillel Place and Avenue H.
For reservations, please call 718-951-4500, or visit the website http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/theater
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