Native Son

Native Son, a book written by Richard Wright, was recently made into a play which we saw on Wednesday at the University of Chicago's theater. It is about the plight of Bigger, a black man in the 1940s who murders a rich white girl. The play explains both the events which lead up to the murder, and how Bigger reacts after killing the girl.
I thought that the production was very well acted; I found it very intense and I was captivated the entire play. The play starts out with Bigger trying to help a rich white girl up to her room, because she is extremely drunk, and he is her chauffer. The girl keeps trying to flirt with Bigger, and eventually, after he gets her to her room, he gives in, but immediately her mother hears them and walks in. However, she is blind, so she doesn't know Bigger is there. To keep the girl from continuing to talk, Bigger smothers her with a pillow. However, he was not trying to kill her, just trying to keep her quiet so he won't be fired. Once he realizes she's dead, he starts to panic, realizing that he will be killed by the police.
After this opening scene, the play does something which I thought was very interesting; three different events which lead up to the murder happen simultaneously, switching back and forth. The first is Bigger with his family, the second is Bigger with his friends, the third is Bigger accepting the chauffer job. In all three, his fear is revealed, and he feels like he must "be a man" to show he's not afraid. I thought that this method switching back and forth between three scenes was unique and well acted, but could be confusing at times. The play continues to switch back and forth between multiple scenes for the rest of the play. Overall, I thought that Native Son was a unique and interesting play.