STAGE: The Brother/Sister Plays

Photo: Richard Termine/NY Times

Now thru Dec 13 @ The Public Theater:

The Brother/Sister Plays - A trilogy of modern –day stories of kinship, love, heartache and coming of age centered around an extended family and community in the Bayou.


Part 1: In the Red and Brown Water
How far will fast, beautiful Oya go to make a mark in the world? IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER is the intoxicating story that charts a young girl’s thrust into womanhood and her subsequent fall into the murky waters of life.

Part 2: The Brothers Size and Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet
Reconceived since it premiered as part of The Public’s 2007-2008 season, THE BROTHERS SIZE is a taut, rhythmic and playful drama that follows two brothers as they walk the line between law and liberty.
MARCUS; OR THE SECRET OF SWEET is a beautiful and touching tale of a young man’s awakening to his tenuous connections with his history, his friends, his sexuality and himself. (source)

BOOK: Bayou

"South of the Mason-Dixon Line, lies a strange land of gods and monsters. Born from centuries of slavery, civil war, innocent bloodshed, hate and strife lurks a world parallel to our own. LEE WAGSTAFF is the daughter of a poor, sharecropper in a depression-era, Mississippi Delta town, called Charon. She’s an introspective, brave child and hard labor in the fields has made her sturdy and strong. One day, Lee and her father help the sheriff retrieve the body of a boy who’d been lynched and thrown into the river. Lee dives into the depths to tie a rope around the boy. While under water, she catches a glimpse of a strange world. Ever since that day, Lee hears voices in the trees and rivers. When Lee’s playmate, Lily, is snatched by BOG, an evil inhabitant of that place she saw, Lee’s father is accused of kidnapping. The worst thing a black man could do in the 30’s was harm a white child. Lee must pursue Bog into his world in order to save her friend before her father is lynched. Lee enlists the help of a benevolent, blues-singing, swamp monster called BAYOU and together they trek across a Southern Neverland in search of Lee’s friend. Along the way, they meet several colorful characters, like BR’ER RABBIT. Lee soon realizes that Bog has some sort of hold on all the inhabitants in this world and feeds off of hatred and strife in our world. As the racial tensions grow, Bog grows more powerful, so not only are Lee’s friends and father in peril, but all of Charon." (source)

Bayou is a graphic novel by Jeremy Love and Patrick Morgan out now now via Zuda Comics. Peep is online here, or buy it here.