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Media Relations

"American Ma(u)l" combines commentary on race relations with satire

The time is "next." The place is "near." Faced with a failing economy, the president of the United States decides to reinstitute slavery, and all black Americans are to report to cotton-picking duty at once. What follows in this raucous, slap-happy satire will have audiences rolling in their seats -- and thinking deeply about the country's past, present and future.

Presented by the Indiana University Department of Theatre and Drama, American Ma(u)l opens Friday, March 21, and continues March 22 and 25-29 in the Wells-Metz Theatre of the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center at 275 N. Jordan Ave. Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m., with an additional matinee March 29 at 2 p.m.

Written by acclaimed playwright Robert O'Hara, American Ma(u)l employs comedy to deliver a timely commentary on the fragile state of race relations in America. The play centers on two families, the white Franklins and their black neighbors the Jeffersons, who begin as friends but see their relationships transform in response to the president's mandate. Audiences are also treated to an irreverent look at some of the "heroes" of American history, including the families' forebears Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

"The show is going to be poking some really harsh fun at some very difficult issues that face us in our culture," said John Kinzer, director of audience development in the IU Department of Theatre and Drama. "Robert O'Hara called this play 'dangerous,' and it is. It is a dangerous piece of theater."

Director Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe, assistant professor of Theatre and Drama, has worked extensively with O'Hara in the past. She served as his assistant director for the premiere of American Ma(u)l in San Francisco and has directed several of his plays at IU and elsewhere.

"My goal with this production is to introduce a new style of theater to IU beyond American Realism. I wanted to challenge students to do a style I was told they couldn't. I heard that high satire cannot be done by actors under 25," she said. "But this is the South Park generation. They watch Dave Chappelle. If anyone understands satire, they do."

The cast represents a wide range of experience levels from freshmen to graduate students, including two IU football players. While many cast members are encountering O'Hara's work for the first time, several others appeared in the recent IU production of his play Booty Candy.

"I have 30 students. I couldn't ask for a better posse. They have astounded me with their creativity," Cooper-Anifowoshe said.

The Wells-Metz Theatre helps inspire that creativity, according to scenic designer and second-year M.F.A. student Seamus Bourne. "It's a flexible space that allows us to do things we wouldn't be able to do anywhere else," he said. The cast will take advantage of the unusual design of the theater, which envelopes the stage on three sides, by bringing the action to the balcony as well as behind the audience.

Bourne has put together a multi-purpose set dominated by a wall of graffiti that suggests citizens' attempt to resist the commercial takeover portrayed in the play. Every image on the wall tells a story, from the corporate sponsorship of the Washington Monument to the unusual eyewear on Thomas Jefferson's Mount Rushmore visage.

Among the additional visual treats to watch for are a pyrotechnic display, a costume consisting of a cape and G-string, and an electric chair with "lots of lights that flash and blink," Bourne said.

"It's Addams Family meets Sin City meets Frankenstein," he explained.

Tickets can be purchased from the IU Auditorium Box Office at 1211 E. Seventh St. Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or through Ticketmaster at 812-333-9955.

A pre-show talk will take place the day of the first performance, given by Audrey Thomas McCluskey, associate professor and interim director of the university's Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, at 3 p.m. in the Wells-Metz Theatre.

On Tuesday, March 25, Cooper-Anifowoshe will give a curtain talk immediately following the performance.

Please note that the play contains explicit language and content and is intended for mature audiences only. For more information on the IU Department of Theatre and Drama, visit http://www.theatre.indiana.edu.

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