Last night, as part of Ohio University bicentennial celebration, Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater performed Free Man of Color to a full house and standing ovation in Kantner Hall.
The play, which was written by Charles Smith at the request of OU President Robert Glidden, dramatized the experience of John Newton Templeton, the university's first black graduate, in Athens in 1828.
The subtly patriotic play gives life to OU's history and does justice to the complexity of the time period. The acting gave vibrancy and nuance to what could have been a dry history lesson.
But unfortunately, much of that intelligence is lost because the play does not give enough historical background information to make up for the obscure location and time period.
The tension of the play focuses on the debate surrounding the U.S. colonization of Liberia, women's rights and Native American relocation. But to one not familiar with early 19th century politics, the fervor is hard to understand. A lot of the play's tension is lost.
Fortunately, much drama is made up for in the performances of Anthony Fleming as Templeton and Gary Houston as Robert Wilson, OU's president and a Presbyterian minister.
The three-person, one-set play chronicles Templeton's struggle to find his own opinions and set his own goals while being used as a pawn in Wilson's scheme.
Wilson brought Templeton - the only black student in a class of nine - to OU not for altruistic reasons, but to train him to become the black representative of U.S. interests in Liberia. Houston does an excellent job portraying the self-righteous, patronizing Presbyterian minister who invokes the name of God to suit his every wish.
In the dramatic final act, Templeton comes to the realization that the Liberia movement, begun by white slave owners, may really only be a way to rid the white Americans of unwanted free men of color.
The scene produces the best moments when Templeton attempts to explain to self-righteous Wilson, the man who arranged his education, that he will not leave America for unknown Africa. Wilson retorts that his newly immigrated family found the United States to be a home, but freed slaves should return to the land of their people. According to Wilson, Templeton is not a real American.
My family has been in this country for six generations
Templeton said. Five generations longer than your family.
Jane Wilson (Shelley Delaney), Robert's wife, attempts to warn Templeton of her husband's plan. But her warnings come off as irritating, instead of prophetic and foreboding. In prolonged scenes between her and Templeton, she merely spits out insults at him in a rapid-fire, breathy whine.
Free Man of Color provides a well-acted glimpse into a glossed-over period of history. The play recreates Templeton's story with such care to dialogue, detail and historical accuracy that it is often frustrating for the audience to watch his struggle to find an independent role in society. 17
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Emily Patterson
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Members of technical support look on during a rehearsal of Charles Smith's historical play Free Man of Color. The play, performed by Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater as part of OU's bicentennial celebration, runs through Saturday at the Elizabeth Evans
