Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris

Well, I promised and now I have to deliver. Unfortunately, Clybourne Park, rather than leaving me awed, left me feeling creepily unsettled. I much preferred the inspiration of intrepid souls overcoming obstacles in A Raisin in the Sun than the insipid, very direct fighting about whether people and their actions are bigoted or perpetuating institutionalized racism.

This play continues the exploration of race and class and housing issues begun in A Raisin in the Sun. The first half shows you the story of the white family who decided to sell their house to the black family in the 50s and the second half is about the subsequent white "gentrification" of the area in the 00s.

I really didn't enjoy reading the snappy dialogue--I'm sure it's much more "natural" when acted out in front of you, but I felt the words carried less weight for being flung about. I also felt that there was too much disconnect between the characters. The whole play just dripped acid.

I prefer to believe that groundbreaking plays should leave you with positive or inspirational feelings. This is not to say that they should depict the world through rose-colored glasses, but they should show you how to fix problems, and not just carp about them. For instance, I can complain all day about being a woman, but would you pay to see a show like that?

Okay, fine, many people have, but cynicism and rancor just breeds more cynicism and rancor. If I propose a show about my struggle against a sexist system to rise up in the ranks of a male-dominated company and become a highly paid, well-respected professional, now, doesn't that sound like something you would much rather pay to see? You're nodding your head--or if you aren't, you should be. Positivity! Inspiration! This is what I expected from a Pulitzer-prize-winning play!

I was let down. And I'm irked that the main idea for Norris' play came from another (superior) work--I don't think we ought to praise someone so much for creating something so intentionally derivative. Not even derivative, but piggybacking! Newsflash: Educated white male sees opportunity for success, capitalizes on groundbreaking work of black female. (Who, by the way, died of cancer in her 30s--yeah, that's right, I'm playing the cancer card!) Clearly all's well on Broadway.

I will begrudgingly say that this is probably worth reading, although I think it is a poor example of constructive conversations about privilege, race, and class (mostly due to lack of any kind of positive conversation model).

~7/10~