One man play brings life to “Black Boy”
As part of Black History Month, Charles Holt will be performing “Black Boy” in the Recital Hall, Tuesday-Wednesday, Feb. 14-15 at 7 p.m.
This one-man performance, based on Richard Wright’s autobiographical book “Black Boy,” was adapted to the stage by Win Hamond as part of the American Place Theater Literature in Life series.
Charles Holt is a veteran of Broadway, film and television. He starred in the Tony-winning “Lion King” as well as “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.” He also starred in the films “Ed’s Trip” and “Anne B. Real,” and currently plays Detective Gillman on “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.”
The play recounts Wright’s life from the age of four to his adulthood in a period of sixty minutes. Mr. Holt will play all the different characters with minimal props.
Wright wrote and published “Black Boy” in 1945, after gaining success as a writer with the publication of “Native Son.” An autobiographical account of Wright’s life in the South, “Black Boy” starts off with Wright at the age of four accidentally setting fire to his home. The fire follows the family’s moves from Natchez, Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee, where his father left them for another woman. The book details the family’s struggle to have enough food and Richard’s struggle to gain an education.
“Black Boy” chronicles Wright’s fight against the South’s Jim Crow laws and his ever-growing desire for education and opportunity. His journey finally led him to Chicago, where he took on a position as a post office worker. After being laid off during the Great Depression, he found work as a writer and became heavily involved in the Communist Party. Wright moved to New York, where he was briefly married to a white dancer named Dhimah Rose Meadman. He later re-married to Ellen Poplar who gave him two daughters, Julia and Rachel. After breaking with the Communist Party, Wright moved to Paris in 1946 where he remained for the remainder of his life. There he became friends with philosopher Jean-Paul Satre and other expatriated authors, including Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin and Chester Himes. Richard died on November 28, 1960 at the age of 52.
Regarding Wright, historian John Henrik Clarke said, “he came like a sledgehammer, like a giant out of the mountain with a sledgehammer, writing with a sledgehammer.”
Wright’s first book, “Native Son,” was highly controversial, yet successful. It became a bestseller, and was the first book written by an African American to become a Book-of-the-Month selection.
In the stage adaptation of “Black Boy,” Charles Holt has made an impression on audiences by developing distinct personalities for all of the twenty characters he portrays. Admission to the event costs $5 for Utah State University Students and $15 for everyone else. For tickets, visit the USU ticket office in the TSC, or call them at 797-0305.
-nealmsnow@cc.usu.edu