An homage to A Raisin the Sun, the classic play about a black family seeking to move to a richer white neighborhood, Living Green continues to March 1.
The play explores questions of obligation and identity as it tells of a well-to-do African American family "living green" in a mostly white Chicago suburb. In the reverse of the objective of Raisin's family, they are contemplating a move back to the old neighborhood.
Living Green is directed by Victory Gardens resident director Andrea J. Dymond, and features Melanie E. Brezill (Shondra), Corey Marshaun Cantrell (Buddy), Aurelia Clunie (Carol Freeman), Ann Joseph (Angela Freeman), Kenn E. Head (Frank Freeman), Samuel G. Roberson, Jr. (Dempsey Freeman) and Cedric Young (Mr. Parks).
According to Victory Gardens Theater, the Tony Award-winning troupe known for its ensemble of writers, including Clunie, the play is set in 1995, the year of the Million Man March, and "looks back at a recent moment in black history while investigating issues seemingly ripped from today's headlines. What happened to our families as we 'moved up' and fled the black neighborhoods that once nurtured us? How do we revitalize our communities? How do we protect our children from the violence that plagues our streets?" Angela and Frank Freeman are "hardworking parents who moved out of the old neighborhood years ago to give their children, Dempsey and Carol, what they never had — access to great schools and well-manicured lawns. Trouble is, Frank is worried he and Angela may have traded away their children's identity as African Americans in the process. With Carol about to graduate from high school, Frank suggests they move back to the city, and join a few families who are trying to make a difference. Angela, however, is too worried about safety. Newly energized with the sense of community generated by the Million Man March, the Freemans make plans to sell their home, just as they take in 16-year-old Shondra, a bright girl raised in the projects. Can their newfound idealism survive the very real challenges Shondra brings into their home?"
Clunie said in production notes, "People have asked if this is a play about ecology. In some ways, yes. If you've got money, you're life is greener. You're able to afford green. Literally, and ecologically. But should green only be possessed by the people who can afford it?"
She added, "The title is really inspired by the plant in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. The small potted plant represents Mama Younger's dream of owning a house with a garden — a dream that propels much of the action in a play about an African American family consigned to a specific community, and they want to expand beyond that. And I began to wonder what happened to us as we moved out of our communities? Now some wonderful things happened. Opportunities expanded. But there were new demands, a few losses, and other important questions of the heart."
Designers include Mary Griswold (sets), Judith Lundberg (costumes), Mikhail Fiksel (sound) and Mary Badger (lights). Jaclyn Holsey is production stage manager.