A black man in whiteface will impersonate Abraham Lincoln this weekend as part of the thought-provoking show "Topdog/Underdog."
Director Caitlin Hylan '09 will present the two-man show, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks.
The director and the two actors, Jamil Sylvester-John '09 and Tony Thrower '09, will perform the show as the culmination of an independent study.
The show depicts the strained relationship between brothers Lincoln and Booth. Lincoln works as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator and has abandoned his former job as a three-card monte hustler. On the other hand Booth (named after Lincoln's assasin) continues to hustle and tries to convince Lincoln to abandon his legal job.
"There is an incredible rivalry between the two brothers," Hylan said. "They are constantly trapped both by their own personal histories and by American history. They are trapped, but they also need it to structure their lives."
This production is not the first time the playwright's work has been presented at Bowdoin. Parks visited campus during the fall of 2007, and the theater and dance department put on scenes from her show 365 Days/365 Plays all over campus last year.
"I had never heard of her before she came to Bowdoin," said Hylan. "After she visited, I thought 'What a brilliant, fascinating person.' I knew I wanted to direct one of her plays. I worked with scenes from her show 'In The Blood' last semester, but when I read 'Topdog' I recognized immediately that it was different. It's much more realistic than her other plays, most are pretty abstract."
"Bowdoin as a community hasn't seen a show like this before," Sylvester-John added. "It touches on a lot of stereotypes about black men."
Sylvester-John sorted through major differences between himself and the character he plays, Lincoln, in order to immerse himself in the production.
"Lincoln is basically uneducated, he barely finished high school. In order to play this character I had to focus on what we had in common, not our differences," he said. "I know what it's like to be the youngest brother—you know how to push your brother's buttons—so I drew from that. Tony and I had to be real about it. How would I react if I were in his position? How would I think? How would I speak?"
"The play is intellectual and certainly incorporates bigger ideas, but that takes a backseat to the raw emotion," Hylan said.
Hylan did not hesitate to produce such an emotionally compelling play.
"I wanted something really gutsy, I was yearning for something real," she said. "The hardest thing about it is that there are no dance routines, fancy lights or elaborate costumes. It really is an actor's play."
"Sometimes I feel a little useless," she added. "I want to help them, but there is only so much I can do as a director."
However, Hylan said she has seen the play evolve since she first undertook the project.
"We initially headed down a track that was very much internal and meditative," she said. "Now all of a sudden we're making changes so that the characters' progression is more external."
Hylan admits that the play's controversial aspects will result in a new and potentially uncomfortable theater-going experience for those who attend.
"It's very raw. It's from way outside the 'Bowdoin Bubble', it's from way outside the state of Maine!" she laughed.
"Topdog/Underdog" will be performed today and tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Chase Barn. Admission is free and the play is open to the public, but seating is limited.