"George Bonga: Black Voyageur" at the History Theatre

Two years ago the History Theatre presented four new works related to the history of our fair state of Minnesota, as they do every year under the title Raw Stages. The class of 2014 has now all seen full productions, telling Minnesota stories as diverse as a Filipino Debutante's Ball, Minnesota's strangest and most infamous true crime story, a Minnesota boy who grew up to do a little radio show, and a black voyageur in Minnesota's pre-statehood frontier days. These stories are all part of our history as Minnesotans and as Americans, and I appreciate the History Theatre's commitment to developing and producing these Minnesota stories. The last play from the 2014 Raw Stages festival to make it to the big stage is George Bonga: Black Voyageur (previously titled Boundary Waters). It's a fascinating story of friendship, survival, and identity in a world that existed less than 200 years ago, but seems so very far away. Born of an African American father and an Ojibwe mother, George Bonga became a well-known fur trader who straddled the worlds of the Native and White cultures, and was one of the first black men born in what would become Minnesota. The play covers one incident in this man's eventful and historic life, and the implications of that event in his life and the larger community.

"Boundary Waters" by the History Theatre at Minnesota History Center

Last night I attended the first of four new works being presented by the History Theatre as part of their Raw Stages festival. On a bare stage with just a few chairs and music stands, actors read the play from the script. But with fine accomplished actors such as these, it becomes something more than just a reading, although not a fully staged production. In a reading with no visual stimulation, it's all about the words, and in this case they are beautiful descriptive words that paint a picture of a landscape and the people who inhabit it.

Boundary Waters, written by Carlyle Brown and directed by Marion McClinton, uses a real-life event in Minnesota history as a metaphor for exploring several ideas. George Bonga was a fur trader of African-American and Native American descent living in Northern Minnesota in the 19th century who became a legendary figure. One of his more famous exploits was tracking down and capturing a suspected murderer, an Ojibwe man named Che-ga-wa-skung, who was then sent to trial at Fort Snelling. This event is at the center of the play as we learn how these events changed the two men and bonded them.

The play opens in the late 1860s (post Civil War and US-Dakota War, both of which are referred to), when George Bonga (beautifully voiced by James A. Williams) is being haunted by dreams about the man he once tracked across the frozen Minnesota winter. He tells his wife (George Keller) the story, and the action flashes back to the chase in 1837. After capturing Che-ga-wa-skung (who, thanks to the writing and Jake Waid's talent in bringing him to life, becomes a sympathetic character despite being a murderer), the two have many deep discussions as they try to survive the cold. Che-ga-wa-skung asks Bonga a simple question, "who are you?" Bonga doesn't really have an answer, he's always living on the boundaries, the son of an Ojibwe mother and a black father, and living the "white ways" as a fur trader. Bonga struggles with the question until the two men meet again later in life and continue the discussion. Rounding out the cast are Jon Andrew Hegge as two colleagues of Bonga's, and Michael Terrell Brown in a too small role as Che-ga-wa-skung's brother.

I very much enjoyed the reading of this new play; it's a fascinating exploration of a chapter of Minnesota history I was previously unfamiliar with, as seen through two well-drawn characters. That's not to say my mind didn't wander on occasion during the dense political sections, but for the most part the captivating and descriptive language held my attention and painted the world so well that I could almost see it. The lakes area north of Brainerd is one of my favorite places on the planet, where I've spent many peaceful and contemplative weeks. It's a thrill to hear that place come alive and to learn a bit more about the region's rich and complicated history. Most of all, I love getting a glimpse into the creative process of what it is to have an idea, write a play, and bring it to life. I look forward to the next incarnation of Boundary Waters.

The History Theatre's Raw Stages festival continues at the Minnesota History Center tonight with Debutante Ball (about a Filipino-American Valentine's Day ball), followed by Glensheen (a musical retelling of the murder in the mansion) and Radio Man (a new play by one of my favorite Minnesotans, Garrison Keillor).

"the road weeps, the well runs dry" at Pillsbury House Theatre

There's a new theater project called "Launching New Plays into the Repertoire," led by The Lark Play Development Center in NYC. The idea is to produce a new play in several regional theaters around the country, because "good playwrights become great playwrights in front of audiences, and good plays become great plays through multiple productions in multiple venues." One of the pilot projects is currently playing at Pillsbury House Theatre in South Minneapolis - the road weeps, the well runs dry by Marcus Gardley. The only previous production of this play was in Juneau Alaska, and after the Minneapolis run it will also be produced at theaters in LA and, most appropriately, Florida. It's a fascinating and epic play about the Seminole Indians and the runaway slaves and free black people who joined with them in Florida in the 19th Century. With a dynamic cast of 11 and the excellent award-winning director Marion McClinton, this mythical and historical drama comes alive. This successful production bodes well for the new project.

This play is difficult to describe because of the huge cast of characters, the several decades of history it covers, and the mythology it presents. It feels like a Greek tragedy, in which the characters are destined, or cursed by the gods, to live these difficult, troubled, and interconnected lives. The main character bears a birthmark of a white sun on his chest, and is told that he cannot be killed except by blood (spoiler alert). We witness the establishment of Freetown by a group of Seminoles and free blacks in 1833, the flourishing of the town and its hard working people, the devastation that comes with a drought and wars, and the ultimate redemption and hope as rain comes again after tragedy.

Number Two (Ansa Akyea) and
Trowbridge (Jake Waid)

Our story centers on two men, the "full-blood" Seminole Trowbridge (Jake Waid, reprising the role he played in his native Juneau) and escaped slave Number Two (another powerful performance by recent Ivey-winner Ansa Akyea). The men become friends friends, companions, partners, and then enemies (there is much discussion of the interconnectedness of love and hate and how that manifests in their relationships with each other and their families). There's also a town shaman called Horse Power (a colorful James Craven), the reverend (Harry Waters, Jr.) and his wife (Regina Marie Williams), the town Casanova who goes through a bit of a transformation (H. Adam Harris), young lovers (sweetly played by Traci Allen and Santino Craven), and warring mothers, one soft and the other tough (George Keller and Keli Garrett). We also see flashbacks of the young Trowbridge (Santino Craven again) and Number Two (Darius Dotch). There's just too much going on to describe it all - death, murder, birth, abuse, love, preaching, punishment, an extremely awkward Sunday dinner - in fact it's a little hard to follow chronologically at times, but the timeline in the playbill helps clear things up. the road weeps, the well runs dry is something that really has to be seen to be fully experienced.

The world of Freetown is successfully created by the sparse set (by Dean Holzman), with just a few suggestions of trees, the town well, and wooden crates to sit or stand on. The costumes are beautiful, with full layered dresses for the women, dandy suits for some of the men in town, and more traditional Seminole garb. The cast makes full use of the intimate space at Pillsbury House, including the aisles and the back of the theater; it's a 360 degree experience.

the road weeps, the well runs dry is an ambitious and epic new play, and perfect for Pillsbury House Theatre that often produces work that is challenging to the audience. Whenever I see a Pillsbury House production, it's never just a pleasant, nice night out at the theater. Challenging, awkward, difficult, but always thoroughly engaging and rewarding. At the end of the play there's a rain dance to end the long drought, and whatever they were doing on that stage worked. When I left the theater it was raining like it hadn't rained in months. By the time I got to my car I was soaked and freezing, but it somehow felt appropriate, like it was part of the experience to be cleansed by the waters that Horse Power called down upon us all. Playing through the end of the month, I can't guarantee rain, but I can guarantee a fascinating and epic experience.