In the Red, Brown, and Often Confusing Water

Quick Summary: 

     On Tuesday night I attended a showing of Tarell Alvin McCraney's play In the Red and Brown Water. Oya, the protagonist, is a young, African-American female and aspiring track star raised in the southern United States. As she is beginning to enter womanhood, her mother, Mama Moja, dies and leaves her to do some growing up on her own. Prior to Mama Moja's death, Oya turned down an offer to run for "State" as a college athlete due to her mother's failing health. This decision is later remembered as a possible turning point in Oya's tragic story. As she is courted by three different men in her hometown; Shango, Elegba, and Ogun Size. Each man is drastically different from the next; Shango is an aggressive and dominant soldier that attracts the most of Oya's attention, Elegba appeals emotionally to Oya through song and talking with her, and Ogun Size is the most dependent and stable man for Oya. Throughout the play Oya develops relationships with each man, which later comes back to bite her. Oya's ultimate goal is to bear a child, something that she does not realize until too late that she is physically unable to do. The audience must keep in mind that the characters are representative of Yoruban gods, further reading can be found here.

Ogun Size

Analysis:

     For me, Ogun Size's attempt to be a good husband and take care of Oya was a striking theme in the story. Oya would never love Ogun Size as a husband, but he tried his best despite this. Ogun Size put his financial and emotional assets at stake and never achieved happiness with Oya due to her uncommitted approach to the marriage. Also, Oya's inability to control her own life seemed like a very striking aspect of the play. She had many chances to change where her life was headed, who she was with, and her quality of life, and failed to do so. This lead to her failing to ever become something significant, as well as ever find happiness with a husband or a child.

Oya and her men

     The African drums and other instruments were incredibly authentic and, coupled with the superb set design, created a very believable and real mood for the play. Watching two of the actors dance to the drums at the end of the play was incredibly entertaining.

Shango (left) and Elegba (right)

     As for critiques, I cannot say anything bad about the performers themselves. That being said, however, I did not enjoy the spoken dialogue that included stage directions and other script aspects that are traditionally not spoken aloud. Also, the random crude sexual parts seemed awkward, and the spots put in for cheap laughs broke the suspension of disbelief that had been so well cultivated throughout the play.

Shango "curling" Oya

     When comparing this performance to other live theater performances I have seen in the past, it does stick out. While In the Red and Brown Water does not stand out as a favorite, it does distinguish itself due to its uniqueness and non-typical genre. I have not seen many plays that follow such a unpredictable plot, as well as a genre focused on the struggles of African Americans in the South.

     I would definitely recommend this play to my friends, however I would warn them that they will be very confused for a while after seeing it, as the themes and historical significance do not make themselves clear initially.