Prime Stage Theatre presents the regional debut of this personal and emotional production at the New Hazlett Theater on January 19-28.
By JESSICA NEU
Most of us know the general story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery County bus boycott. We can maybe approximate a timeline for these occurrences and restate the story of Rosa Parks being, an African American female who was asked to give up her seat to a white woman on a Montgomery County bus. Parks refused to move and was arrested. The arrest led to a boycott of the bus system, which played a role in ending Jim Crow laws. Rosa Parks has become a symbol of the Civil Rights movement and remains an icon of determination and fortitude. While this is a practical account of events surrounding Parks’s protest and legacy, the history books and discussions often leave out the details, context, and nuance of Parks’s life and actions.
Prime Stage Theatre’s production of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott pays tribute to Parks’ legacy but also tells her story with a depth and authenticity not found in other productions or retellings of this period in American history. The small ensemble cast led by Chelsea Davis, as Parks unites for a powerful retelling of a story you think you know.
Audience members are welcomed into the theater as classic soul music plays in the background to set the ambiance for the performance. The simple yet effective set (Alex Keplar, Joseph Gates) depicts the inside of a public bus. The Washington Trolley Museum donated a bench from the Montgomery bus systems circa the mid-1950s, which is otherwise on display at their Washington County, PA museum.
Directed by Linda Haston, the production places Rosa in the driver’s seat of her own story. From the first lines, Rosa refutes a common misconception – that she refused to give up her seat because she was tired. Rosa admits that she was tired but that her soul, not her body, felt fatigued. Parks admitted she was not vigilant when getting onto the bus that afternoon in 1955. Had Rosa been paying better attention, she would have noticed that the driver was one she had actively avoided because of an altercation 12 years ago. However, Rosa sat in the first row of the colored section on the bus, but all of the “whites only” seats became full as a white woman got on the bus. The rules stated that the entire first row of African Americans had to stand because a white person could not sit next to an African American. At that moment, Rosa decided that she would remain anchored to her seat by years of indignity.
After this first scene, audiences have the privilege of getting to know Rosa Parks and her family, friends, and colleagues. We are introduced to her husband (Jake Moon), Civil Rights leader and activist Edward Nixon (Nick Page), Rosa’s pastor (Ken Lutz), her dear friends and mentors/councilwoman (Cynthia Dallas and Rebecca L. Godlove), and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Jake Moon) and his wife, Coretta Scott King (Ameriah Fisher). The ensemble tells Parks’ story and also the story of an America that was founded on principles of American Exceptionalism and white superiority. Except for Davis, each actor perfectly weaves between supporting characters to make the story whole. The actors seamlessly transition from one character to the next, with the powerful dialogue marking their distinctions. Together, the talented cast takes audiences through the struggles of trying to abolish Jim Crow laws 337 years after the first African Americans were brought to America as slaves.
We see the demoralization of African Americans being forced to take civics exams to earn voting rights and then paying inflated wages as yet another barrier to being allowed to vote. We hear the death threats and see bombs detonated at the Parks’ and Kings’ homes as well as at their church. Parks and her husband lost their jobs after the boycott began. But we also see the power of conviction and the efficacy of non-violent social force when implemented on a large scale. We see the invigoration of a group of people when their feet, which were once rested, are now tired from walking, but their souls, which were once tired from segregation, are now rested.
Although the Supreme Court ruled segregation as morally and legally wrong nearly 70 years ago, America still has much progress to make by the way of racial and judicial equality. However, shows such as Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott remind us of the power of assembly and conviction when we see evil as a concept, not as a person or group of people, and refuse to hate the opposition. Even in 2024, Rosa Parks makes clear that we can still “stand up for what’s right by sitting down.”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Prime Stage Theatre’s production of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott has performances January 19 – 28, 2024 at the New Hazlett Center for Performing Arts. More information and tickets at https://primestage.com/events/rosa-parks/
Categories: Reviews
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