A hip-hop musical about a founding father; two irreverent takes on slavery; a 24-hour play about life in America from 1776 to 2016.
These are recent pieces by playwrights who are revolutionizing theater and re-inventing American history: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Suzan-Lori Parks and Taylor Mac.
In this interview, theater critics Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post and Adam Feldman of Time Out New York, said that the plays seem to stem from the authors' experiences as members of minority groups. “There seems to be an interest in what makes America a country and people who might not have had a voice before now can say, 'Well, ok, this is my take or my people’s take,'” said Vincentelli. “It’s a huge difference in terms of really who gets to tell the story.”
"Hamilton" by Miranda started performances at the Public Theater in January and is quickly moving to Broadway this summer as a full-fledged hit. Feldman said Miranda's interpretation of the life of Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Treasurer, feels new. “It’s enormous in its scope and it’s also incredibly modern and entertaining,” he said. “It’s really one of the best musicals I have seen in 20 years of theater-going on a regular basis in New York.”
Another unconventional historical play is "An Octoroon," by Jacobs-Jenkins. He's a young, African-American playwright and offers a funny take on slavery, which Vincentelli said is very radical. “He often makes you laugh, and you feel so incredibly at ease for laughing,” she said. “It’s really brave, really funny, very deeply unsettling play.”
Another African-American playwright, Suzan-Lori Parks, also presented an unconventional take on slavery last year with "Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 and 3)." Parts 4, 5 and 6 should be coming soon. Feldman said her work is especially interesting because it's told through the perspective of slaves. “This is an effort, I think, to imagine and create a narrative for characters who have been historically silenced,” he said.
Feldman and Vincentelli also mentioned the work of queer actor and playwright Taylor Mac. He has been presenting excerpts of his play “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music,” which will culminate in a 24-hour play about life in America from 1776 to 2016 next year. “This project gets to his core: How do you think about the history of America through the prism of his own personal history,” said Vincentelli.
Feldman said that Miranda posed the question well in “Hamilton": Who gets to write history?
