I had an extraordinary experience last night. I went to see A Song for Coretta, a play by Pearl Cleage, at the 7 Stages Theater in Atlanta last night. I expected an homage to Coretta Scott King, a subject about which I am admittedly mildly enthusiastic, at best. A friend had told me before hand that the play had received tepid reviews in the paper, so needless to say my expectations were quite low.
I was amazed and delighted by this play. Rather than create some biographical sketch of King, this play is set in the queue at the Ebenezer Church as five African American women wait to pay their respects to Coretta King after her funeral at the public viewing. The play has no scenery to speak of short of a concrete wall and a cross in the distance -- it is all about listening to the voices of a diverse group of women converging on this one moment in time. I found the five character sketches fascinating, the writing clean and engaging, and the subject matter thought provoking but not stridently political. As a white male, I never thought that I would enjoy this play so much, but there is something universal about the stories that were told. I highly recommend this play to anyone wishing to be challenged a bit. It will surprise you.
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