FATHER COMES HOME from the WAR @ The Public Theater

This Civil War play by Suzan-Lori Parks, a brilliant contemporary playwright, epitomizes the best of theatrical experiences.  Parks has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her Tony winning play Topdog/Underdog.  Withn this intense look at slavery during the Civil War, there is love, heartbreak and humor.  The play ingeniously shows the imbedded servitude of slavery & the unwavering contention of the plantation owner's sovereignty over his slaves.  Prior to & during the performance on a small, stark set a solo guitarist plays southern blues, setting the tone with his music & poignant lyrics.  The play opens on a pre-dawn gathering of 4 slaves excitedly wagering their prized possessions on whether Homer, their master's favored slave, will be going to war alongside the Colonel.  Homer appears contending he is staying on the plantation with Penny, the woman he loves.  Homer seeks advice from the oldest slave who has been like a father to him.  Homer reveals the Colonel's offer of freedom if he serves alongside him for the Confederacy. It takes little prodding to convince Homer to leave as he had intended.  The scene shifts to a small encampment.  The Colonel has lost his regiment but has captured a Union soldier.  Homer is servile & tends to the Colonel's every whim.  The pompous preening & preaching by the Colonel of white supremecy is appalling & comical.  Most shocking is the explanation Homer gives their captive for not running away.  Homer's warped sense of self-worth comes from the high monetary value deemed him by the Colonel.  "I'm worth something and if I ran away I'd be stealing."  Homer returns as a lordly freed man to the plantation after the Colonel has been killed.  Comic relief is brilliantly delivered by Homer's talking dog who relays the chain of events before his master's return.  The juxtaposition of grave issues & humor prove "truth is a funny thing." A refrain heard often among the slaves is "there are worse things."  This masterpiece is one of the best plays I've seen.