The personal is political. That phrase was first associated with the feminist movement, but it feels just as true for any other social or political movement. Tony Award-nominated playwright Christina Anderson‘s THE RIPPLE, THE WAVE THAT CARRIED ME HOME, now running at Portland Center Stage in a co-production with Artists Repertory Theatre, explores this idea through the lens of one family whose personal relationships are inextricably intertwined with their fight for social justice. It’s a stunning example of storytelling – wrapping a history lesson about the social justice movement of the 1960s in a poignant family drama. Also, the final scene is one of the most beautiful expressions of joy I’ve ever seen on stage.
THE RIPPLE, THE WAVE THAT CARRIED ME HOME opens in the 1990s. It centers on Janice (Lauren Steele), a young woman living in Ohio. She gets several phone messages from a character named “Young Chipper Ambitious Black Woman,” who informs Janice that a local swimming pool in Janice’s hometown of Beacon, Kansas, will be named after her father. The father, Edwin (Don Kenneth Mason), along with Janice’s mother, Helen (Andrea White), had been activists in the 1960s fighting for the simple right for Black people to be able to swim in the local public swimming pools. (Many towns actually closed their pools rather than integrate them.) Would Janice come to speak at the ceremony?
This request forces Janice to revisit memories of her childhood that she has tried to forget. Her parents’ lives revolved around their activism, and there often wasn’t much room left for her. During her teenage years, several incidents opened up cracks in the family’s foundation that were never patched back up. The play bounces back and forth in time, slowly revealing the complexity of the relationship Janice has with her parents as well as with the activity of swimming.
This play itself is beautiful – the way the story is woven together, the language that borders on poetry flowing over you like water – it’s often heartbreaking, but also heart-filling. And this production, directed by Daniel J. Bryant, hits all of the right notes. The cast is excellent, especially Lauren Steele, who is captivating on stage, and Chavez Ravine, who will make you wish you had an Aunt Gayle of your own. And the set, designed by Brittany Vasta, holds many secrets that are a pleasure to discover. The visual aspect of the show is enhanced by Xavier Pierce‘s gorgeous lighting design, which is largely responsible for that stirring last scene. I get thrills and chills just thinking about it.
THE RIPPLE, THE WAVE THAT CARRIED ME HOME runs through October 30. Don’t miss it. More details and tickets here.
Photo credit: Shawnte Sims/courtesy of Portland Center Stage