In the Red and Brown Water

 

On November 10^th, 2012 I went to watch Penn State's School of Theatre perform the play In the Red and Brown Water at the Playhouse Theatre. In the Red and Brown Water is a play by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Steve Broadnax. It is the first play in the trilogy, The Brothers/Sister Plays, which consist of The Brothers Size, In the Red and Brown Water, and Marcus or the Secret of Sweet. It is about the transformation from youthhood into adulthood of a young trackstar, Oya, and her childhood friend, Little Elegba. Oya is offered a scholarship to run for a university but declines it because she wants to take care of her dying mother, Mama Moja. After her mother passes away, Oya goes back to the university and learns that the oppprtunity offered to her is no longer available. Little Elegba is like a brother to Oya and is always there for her but he is always causing trouble and eventually makes bad choices that he must live with for the rest of his life. Oya, upset with the passing of her mother and not being to get out of the projects of Louisiana, seeks love and comfort in two men, Shango and Ogun, hoping that they will give her what she has always wished for, a baby.

The most important thing about the story that struck me was that you shouldn't take oppprtunities for granted. Basically, you should live in the moment and if you're offered something that you'll probably never be offered again, take it. Take it and don't look back. Oya gave up the opportunity to go to college, get out the projects, and become a successful trackstar because she wanted to be next to her mom when she passed away. Even her mother told her that she should've taken the offer. I understand that she wanted to be there for her mother as she was dying but now she'll never know if her life would've been better if she did accept the offer.

I was most compelled with the combination of modern culture with African culture. As the play was starting, I thought it was going to be a predominately African cultural play because of the set and the way the characters were dressed. I was pretty surprised when I heard the cast speaking in modern language and the use of modern music being played at certain parts of the play. Even though most of the play's music is African, the use of songs by modern singers, for example Rihanna, was really a great twist in the play.

I really enjoyed watching the play In the Red and Brown Water by Tarell Alvin McCraney. I loved every minute of the playing and after it was done I wanted to watch it again. The actors and actresses were very talented and did a great job portraying each character and including the audience in the performance by dancing and running in the crowd. However, I think the ending could've been better. I understand what the writer wanted too see but I feel like it still could've been a little clearer because I heard some people saying that they didn't get it. I have seen many live theater performances and compared to others, In the Red and Brown Water is definitely on the lists of plays I enjoyed. Kudos to the Penn State School of Theatre, they did a great job performing this play.