CHICAGO | On Thursday evening, April 18, we traveled downtown to Chicago’s Goodman Theater to see Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, a fantastic play by one of America’s most celebrated playwrights, August Wilson. The play is part of Wilson’s American Century Cycle, a collection of ten plays that chronicle the African American experience in each decade of the 20th century. Set in a boarding house in 1911 Pittsburgh, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone portrays life when slavery was only 50 years in the past.
The title of the play references the real-life Joe Turney, a “man catcher” who effectively re-enslaved emancipated African Americans by accusing them of a crime and forcing them to work in a chain gang as punishment. The play explores the effects of such imprisonment on a man’s psyche and the lives of those around him while also dealing with issues of interpersonal relationships, marriage, love, childhood and spirituality. The residents of the boarding house assist him in his attempt to heal from a traumatic past in which he lost his wife and seemingly his sanity. He and his daughter lead an interesting journey that results in something the audience would never have anticipated. The community which he encounters is a closely knit group of Black men and women who lean on one another as they face the difficulties and day to day happenings of life. Many of the play’s scenes make you feel as if you are there having tea and coffee and chatting late into the night. They bond over joyful laughter, dance, folk music and a connection to the spiritual realm.
Upon entering the theater, we immediately noticed the stunning set design. The stage was quite large and an artistic frame complemented the central set. The interior of the boarding house was highly detailed, including beautiful hardwood floors and ornate antique tables, chairs and a kitchen. The set was complete with real food and coffee consumed by the actors in recurring breakfast scenes of biscuits and grits. Pairing the outstanding set and props with flawless costumes made for a highly immersive visual experience even from a distance — however, these stunning visual details were not the only sensory experience at this play. Both live and recorded music was woven throughout the story including an acoustic guitar and other percussive instruments which the cast actually play, yet another dimension that helped immerse the audience into this charming, antique-feeling play through visuals and sounds.
While we are not necessarily theater experts, the acting was undeniably excellent. There was not a single weak link in the cast of eleven, including one 12-year-old and one 8-year-old. All of the actors’ talents came together in a seamless blend of humor and dramatic emotion.
With a run time of roughly two hours and 40 minutes, one might worry about getting bored, especially in this era of short-form content and shortened attention spans. Rest assured, the overall product was a truly captivating and thought-provoking experience.