RASHEEDA SPEAKING-Great Theater that asks "Aren't We All Racist?"

Racial tensions have become palpable in recent months.  It has been 50 years since the touchstone events of Bloody Sunday & the March on Selma which paved the way to civil rights in our nation.  Pres. Obama spoke eloquently regarding the courageous citizens who led a peaceful protest to uphold our American values of equality & justice.  Joel Johnson's prescient & insightful play RASHEEDA SPEAKING is entertaining & provocative.  Johnson is not afraid to rear the ugliness of bigotry in various forms.  This fast paced one act plays has 4 characters:  2 co-workers, a surgeon, Dr. Williams & an elderly patient, Rose.  The drama centers around the 2 co-workers, Ileen (Oscar winner Dianne Wiest) & Jaclyn (Tony winning actress Tonya Pinkins.)   Wiest plays the congenial, long time assistant to Dr. Williams.  Dr. Williams implores Ileen to document Jaclyn, who is African-American, for any flagrant behaviors to provide human resources with justification for demoting her from his employee.  Ileen is earnest in her protestations of Jaclyn's faults but becomes manipulated by the Dr. and given a raise & promotion.  When Jaclyn returns to work after a 5 day hiatus, it becomes obvious that the Dr. did have cause to describe her as "aggressive and condescending."  Naive, Jaclyn is not & she becomes wise to her precarious position in the office.  Who then is Rasheeda?  Rasheeda, according to Jaclyn is secret code for nigger used by young, professional white males.  Rasheeda has plenty to say regarding the toxicity of prejudice & racial "revenge for slavery."  I say this play deserves a Pulitizer for addressing racism, stereotyping & coercion in an insightful & essential manner.