Little Theatre presents 'Native Son'

Layne Taylor

Published Sunday, February 17, 2008

Greetings Natchez and the Miss-Lou. Natchez Little Theatre is proud to present its sixth show of the Diamond Jubilee 60th Season in cooperation with the 19th Annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration and the Richard Wright Centennial Celebration. “Native Son” is Richard Wright’s landmark novel about racism, class and economic inequality and was originally published in 1940 and became a best-seller with 215,000 copies in the first three weeks.

“Native Son” opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on March 24, 1941, and was directed by Orson Welles. Wright along with Paul Green adapted “Native Son” for the stage.

Richard Wright was born on a plantation near Natchez. His grandparents had been slaves and his father, Nathaniel, who was an illiterate sharecropper and mill worker, left home when Richard was 6. Wright grew up in poverty, staying often at homes of relatives. His mother, Ella Wilson, was a schoolteacher; she moved with her family to Memphis.

The protagonist of “Native Son” is a young black man in Chicago, Bigger Thomas, who lives in a one-room apartment in Chicago’s South Side Black Belt, with his mother, his young sister, Vera, and younger brother, Buddy. He is hired by a wealthy family named Dalton as their chauffeur. Mr. Dalton gives money for social welfare, but at the same time owns the rat-infested building in which Bigger lives.

The rhythms of Bigger’s life are “indifference and violence; periods of abstract brooding and periods of intense desire; moments of silence and moments of anger — like water ebbing and flowing from the tug of a far-away, invisible force.” The family’s free-thinking daughter, Mary, befriends him — with her he visits Communist headquarters, where she meets her boyfriend Jan Erlone.

Mary has had too much drink and she demands Bigger carry her home and then up to her room. When her blind mother enters Mary’s room, Bigger panics, and tragedy ensues.

Natchez Little Theatre’s production of “Native Son” is the first production of the play in the Deep South and by a community theatre. The play is as timely now as it was when Richard Wright penned the novel. It is my honor to direct the talented cast of local volunteers in this landmark production. Tommy Jackson, Tommy Magee, Wathen Dogget and Leon Hollins have imaginatively created the sets for this rapid-paced, 11-scene show.

Starring as Bigger Thomas is Darryl Grennell with Carolyn Myles as his mother, Kristen Hogans as his sister and Jonah Bushell as his little brother. In the roles of the Dalton family are Rob Conger and Elaine Harter as Mr. and Mrs. Dalton and Janey Dixey is powerful in her portrayal of their daughter, Mary.

Rounding out the talented cast are Mike Gemmell, Stacey Carden, Landon Henry, Adrienne Bushell, John Harter, Antonio Williams, Don Bates, Jessie Hayden III, Royal Hill Jr., Laurie Williams, Cain Madden, Tammy White, Byron Bradley, Aaron White, Nicole Ballard, Casey Gilbert and Dwight Williams. It has been thrilling working with such dedicated newcomers and veteran actors.

“Native Son” will open with a 12:15 matinee on Thursday, to a sold-out auditorium of high school students from Jackson, Natchez, Vidalia and Ferriday. The evening performances begin at 8 p.m. Friday. The tickets for this performance are all $15 and must be reserved by calling the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration at 601-446-1289 or toll free at 1-866-296-6522.

The Saturday evening, performance is at 7:30 p.m. and “Native Son” closes with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Tickets for these two performances are $15 for adults and $12 for senior citizens (60 and above) and youth (18 and under) and reservations should be made by calling NLT at 601-442-2233 or toll free at 1-877-440-2233 or by e-mail at natchez@bellsouth.net.

All performances are at the Natchez Little Theatre at 319 Linton Ave. at Maple Street in Natchez and the box office opens one hour prior to curtain. “Native Son” is partially funded by the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The show is executive produced by the Adams County Board of Supervisors, Bluffs and Bayous and Comcast Spotlight and is produced by Dr. Ed Gaudet, KFNV River Radio, King of Hearts, McDonald’s, Dr. David A. Timm and Wal-Mart.

I look forward to seeing you at this historic production of Richard Wright’s “Native Son.” Don’t miss it.

Layne Taylor is the executive and artistic director of the Natchez Little Theatre and the director of “Native Son.”