Appropriate/An Octoroon: Plays

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781559368018
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: American Drama
• Index: Literature

"The deftly crafted blend of shocking exaggeration and believability, politeness and fury...makes Appropriate land with the kind of thump you rarely encounter in the theater."— Chicago Tribune

"So energetic, funny, and entertainingly demented, you can't look away."— New York on An Octoroon

With deft attention to familial dynamics and a tense undercurrent of socio-political realities, Appropriate harkens the likes of Tracy Letts or Sam Shepard, but with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's unique flair for melodrama and touch of the absurd.

Themes of history and racial politics permeate much of this young playwright's astounding work. This collection also includes the acclaimed play An Octoroon, a bombastic theatrical investigation of theater and identity, wherin an old play gives way to a startlingly contemporary piece.

Also includes the short play I Promise Never Ever Again to Write Plays About Asians...

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins 's plays include An Octoroon, Neighbors, Appropriate, Gloria, and War. He is a playwright-in-residence at Signature Theatre. Recent honors include a 2014 Obie Award for Best New American Play ( An Octoroon and Appropriate ).

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Appropriate received a co–world premiere at the 37th Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville (Les Waters, Artistic Director; Jennifer Bielstein, Managing Director) in Louisville, KY, on March 5, 2013, in association with Victory Gardens Theater. It was directed by Gary Griffin. The scenic design was by Antje Ellermann, the costume design was by Connie Furr-Soloman, the lighting design was by Matt Frey, the sound design was by Bray Poor; the dramaturgs were Janice Paran and Amy Wegener, and the production stage manager was Michael D. Domue. The cast was:

TONI	Jordan Baker
RHYS	David Rosenblatt
BO	Larry Bull
RACHAEL	Amy Lynn Stewart
CASSIDY	Lilli Stein
AINSLEY	Gabe Weible
FRANZ	Reese Madigan
TRISHA	Natalie Kuhn

Appropriate received a co–world premiere at the Victory Gardens Theater (Chay Yew, Artistic Director; Christopher Mannelli, Managing Director) in Chicago, IL, on November 14, 2013. It was produced in association with the Actors Theatre of Louisville and the 37th Humana Festival of New American Plays. It was directed by Gary Griffin. The scenic design was by Yu Shibagaki, the costume design was by Janice Pytel, the lighting design was by Jesse Klug, the sound design was by Chris LaPorte, the prop design was by Jesse Gaffney; the fight choreographer was Ryan Bourque, and the stage manager was Dennis J. Conners. The cast was:

TONI	Kirsten Fitzgerald
RHYS	Alex Stage
BO	Keith Kupferer
RACHAEL	Cheryl Graeff
CASSIDY	Jennifer Baker
AINSLEY	Theo Moss, Mark Page
FRANZ	Stef Tovar
TRISHA	Leah Karpel

Appropriate was produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Howard Shalwitz, Artistic Director; Jeffrey Herrmann, Managing Director) in Washington, DC, on November 8, 2013. It was directed by Liesl Tommy. The scenic design was by Clint Ramos, the costume design was by Kathleen Geldard, the lighting design was by Colin K. Bills, the original music and sound design were by Broken Chord; the fight choreographer was Joe Isenberg, the production dramaturg was Kirsten Bowen, and the production stage manager was Kristy Matero. The cast was:

TONI	Deborah Hazlett
RHYS	Josh Adams
BO	David Bishins
RACHAEL	Beth Hylton
CASSIDY	Maya Brettell
AINSLEY	Cole Edelstein, Eli Schulman
FRANZ	Tim Getman
RIVER	Caitlin McColl

Appropriate received its New York premiere at Signature Theatre (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) in New York on February 25, 2014. It was directed by Liesl Tommy. The scenic and costume design were by Clint Ramos, the lighting design was by Lap Chi Chu, the original music and sound design were by Broken Chord, the fight direction was by Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet, the projection design was by Aaron Rhyne; the production stage manager was Kyle Gates. The cast was:

TONI	Johanna Day
RHYS	Mike Faist
BO	Michael Laurence
RACHAEL	Maddie Corman
CASSIDY	Izzy Hanson-Johnston
AINSLEY	Alex Dreier
FRANZ	Patch Darragh
RIVER	Sonya Harum

Appropriate was produced at Center Theatre Group’s Mark Taper Forum (Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director; Stephen D. Rountree, Managing Director) in Los Angeles, CA, on September 23, 2015. It was directed by Eric Ting. The scenic design was by Mimi Lien, the costume design was by Laura Bauer, the lighting design was by Christopher Kuhl, the sound design was by Matt Tierney; the fight director was Steve Rankin, the dramaturg was Joy Meads, and the production stage manager was David S. Franklin. The cast was:

TONI	Melora Hardin
RHYS	Will Tranfo
BO	David Bishins
RACHAEL	Missy Yager
CASSIDY	Grace Kaufman
AINSLEY	Liam Blair Askew, Alexander James Rodriguez
FRANZ	Robert Beitzel
RIVER	Zarah Mahler

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

ANTOINETTE “TONI” LAFAYETTE	the oldest, white, late 40s–early 50s
RHYS THURSTON	her son, white, late teens
BEAUREGARDE “BO” LAFAYETTE	the middle, white, late 40s–early 50s
RACHAEL KRAMER-LAFAYETTE	his wife, white, late 40s
CASSIDY “CASSIE” KRAMER-LAFAYETTE	their oldest child, white, early teens
AINSLEY KRAMER-LAFAYETTE	their youngest child, white, a child
FRANÇOIS “FRANZ/FRANK”
LAFAYETTE	the youngest, white, late 30s–early 40s
RIVER RAYNER	his fiancée, white, early 20s but looks younger

SETTING

The living room of a former plantation home in southeast Arkansas. Summer.

A NOTE ON OVERLAPPING

A slash ( / ) in a character’s line denotes where the following character’s line should begin.

A slash ( / ) at the beginning of a line denotes a complete overlap with the following character’s line.

A NOTE ON THE TITLE

ap pro pri ate

adj.	1. suitable or fitting for a particular purpose, person, occasion, etc. 2. belonging to or peculiar to a person; proper
v.	3. to set apart, authorize, or legislate for some specific purpose or use 4. to take to or for oneself; take possession of 5. to take without permission or consent; seize; expropriate 6. to steal, especially to commit petty theft

LOPAKHIN: If only my father and grandfather could rise up out of their graves, and see all that’s happened—how their little Yermolai, their abused, semi-literate Yermolai, who used to run around barefoot in winter—how that same Yermolai has bought this estate, the most beautiful spot on earth. Yes, I’ve bought the land on which my father and grandfather were slaves, where they weren’t even allowed in the kitchen.

—ANTON CHEKHOV, THE CHERRY ORCHARD

No “we” should be taken for granted when the subject is looking at other people’s pain.

—SUSAN SONTAG, REGARDING THE PAIN OF OTHERS

ACT ONE

The Book of Revelations

PROLOGUE

Light abandons us and a darkness replaces it.

Instantly, a billion cicadas begin trilling in the dense, velvety void—loudly, insistently, without pause—before hopefully, at some point, becoming the void.

The insect song fills and swe...