The History Lesson (The Lessons of History)
A stunning achievement defined by "’the most effective cast" Wemm has "seen in the Fredericksburg area in my almost four years of play-going here." It may come back in 2026- let's hope it does.
By Dennis Wemm
THEATRE CRITIC
The History Lesson
Written by Malanna Henderson; co-directed by Deborah Harris and Bree St. Albin
Presented by Somewhere in Time Production
“Theatre is simply what cannot be expressed by any other means; a complexity of words, movements, gestures that convey a vision of the world inexpressible in any other way.”
-Eugene Ionesco
A play is a representation of a truth: an attempt to tell a story through the eyes of the artists involved in making and shaping it. A production of the play is unique because its creation is in the hands of the artists (actors, directors, designers, management and production) whose work is then observed by how an audience “reads” and “feels” what they see. Each performance of each show is a unique creation. Heavy stuff, right?
In the John J. Wright Cultural Center, I was fortunate to witness such an audience/performer connection at work. The play was a strong connection of all the above elements creating a moment in time that was in its way enchanting, clear, and a pleasure to observe.
Malanna Henderson’s work is not an attempt to recreate events as they actually happened but to present a view of how Black experiences in pre-Civil War America were shaped by the people who lived them. It’s not a photograph but a painting of external and internal experiences in which each interaction is viewed, questioned, and accepted as a true representation. It tells the story of the effects of long-term historical violence by people who have survived it, on their own terms to the extent they are able.
Henderson does not look away from the unpleasant, nor dwell on the details. In life, we tell others of difficult experiences even as we edit the story. Our impression might remove graphic details and trust our audience to guess and intuit what really happened. This is the place where The History Lesson chooses to weave its spell.
The outline of the plot is a simple story of nurturing, love, acceptance, and the things that stop them from making us all happy with each other. Hattie Rose is a young woman in a situation that is built to defeat her. She is a life-long slave who has a longing not only for freedom but for happiness and connection.
She is pregnant, not by her own choice but because she doesn’t own her own body. We are never told the father, but clearly the relationship doesn’t mean enough for her to mention. She is reinventing herself down to her name. In the past she was always Black Hattie, named after a White woman but identified only by her skin color and her social station. She renamed herself and that’s how people know her. Her life is a story of her taking control of herself.
Her friend Bertha, an older slave who accepts and admires her gumption, is her sounding board and confidante. Their conversations help us to understand the role of enslaved women without preaching, but with a unique emotional connection. You immediately know these women because of the everyday language of loving and sharing they employ.
Lewis is proud that he’s “the second oldest slave in the plantation.” As Hattie Rose’s father he has great influence over her life and great respect from the whole community. He is doggedly conservative in an old-fashioned sense, not caring for change in behavior while still managing to care for and support the people who come to him.
Frank is a lawyer, a college graduate who was kidnapped by force and severely injured. He is intelligent and able, he has great affection for Hattie Rose and sympathy for her frustration, seeing her as an equal. He will violate rules and attempt to change the world in support of her happiness. Frank is a co-protagonist in the play, along with Hattie Rose.
Henry is a gentle giant, in love with Hattie Rose and willing to give her the world if she joins him. He is probably not smart enough to plot an escape for her, though, and can only offer her a life that is more of the same heartbreak.
All of the performers are very strong. I’m going out on a limb and saying that this was the most effective cast I’ve seen in the Fredericksburg area in my almost four years of play-going here. The ensemble of actors had not only skills for performance but a passion for their characters’ needs and desires, and the ability to let their own feelings shine through their layered characters. I genuinely liked the people I joined in two rooms of slave quarters on a southern plantation in 1860. Even Henry, who could easily have been turned into a laughingstock or a villain, was allowed to breathe and shine in all his scenes.
Henderson’s writing was just as skilled as the acting. I have seen literally hundreds of plays and directed over a hundred productions. I don’t think any other playwright has been so good at setting me up with a set of expectations for unnecessary conflict, raised the stakes to such a point of easy confrontation, and then subverted the easy outcome with sheer affection and optimism. Expect a hero’s journey plotline, but one in which no parental figure dies, no climactic violence occurs, no character falls into an easy stereotype, no character is allowed to go off to a solitary life of self-pity. It’s a romantic love story that doesn’t allow for easy solutions-and the love extends way beyond romance.
The staging, literally on the stage with the five actors no more than twenty feet away, supports the audience’s connection with both the actors and with each other. Simple, no real scene changes or props changes or (really) costume changes are hidden, but we are allowed to be delighted in the outcome of Frank and Hattie Rose’s story.
Henderson ended the evening with the promise of the play being (possibly) seen again in the New Year, and I truly hope you will experience it then.
Dennis Wemm is a retired professor of theatre and communication, having taught and led both departments at Glenville State College for 34 years. In his off time he was president and sometimes Executive Director of the West Virginia Theatre Conference, secretary and president of the Southeastern Theatre Conference, and generally enjoyed a life in theatre.
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