• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

REVIEW: FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2, AND 3) AT LOEB DRAMA CENTER

Written by SUSANNA JACKSON Posted January 29, 2015 Filed Under: A+E, Performing Arts

205-Wide-act-1

For the second time this season, American Repertory Theater has a man in dog’s clothing center stage. Whereas J.M. Barrie’s sheep dog in “Neverland” was as dumb (and mute) as my own pup, Odd-See in “Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, and 3)” waxes the free-flowing, stylized verse of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. It’s at once silly, startling, and profound—which can also be said of the rest of the three-hour production, directed by Jo Bonney.

 

Before we meet the vocal Odd-See, and before we meet his owner, Hero, we are introduced to the chorus of Less Than Desirable Slaves dressed in anachronistic garb (think: high tops and crocs) as they take bets on whether or not Hero will choose to go to war with the Colonel, his boss-master. The stakes are high for our Hero; his betrothed Penny (her name piling on to the numerous hat tips to the Odyssey) is reason enough to stay, but the Colonel, dangles the promise of freedom over his head in exchange for time served with the Confederate army—a cause as contradictory as they come. Matters are soon complicated as it’s revealed that this isn’t Hero’s first offer of freedom. In the past, promises went unmet even as Hero obliged the plantation master’s unsavory requests at the cost of his own morals and friendships.

 

It is hardly a spoiler given the name of the production that Hero does in fact go to war in the second act, and return in the third. In the second act the simplistic set becomes even more barren but still beautiful for, “A Battle in the Wilderness.” Here we are offered a snapshot of Hero’s time at war where he and the Colonel interact with Union captain, a captured soldier. After intermission,“The Union of My Confederate Parts,” Hero returns to the now-polarized plantation proudly toting a name he has chosen for himself, Ulysses (here the nods to ye olde Odysseus begin to get trite) and yielding the Emancipation Proclamation.

 

More than the homage-heavy plot, it’s the tonal shifts between each segment of the production that keep audience members on their toes. Both the first and third act are highly stylized; the fourth wall is consistently broken, the ensemble relishes in (perhaps overly) repetitive verse, and, of course, there is a big, shaggy, talking dog in the third. Following a naturalistic, heavyweight second act, Odd-See’s enthusiastic appearance is a bit of much-needed momentary comic relief, or, for at least one audience member on opening night, the yellow snow ruining the whole production. After final bows, the young lady hurriedly wrapped herself in her layers and stormed out of the Loeb Drama Center, telling her friends along the way that she was in utter disbelief and highly offended by the appearance of the personified pup.

 

However, I believe that more than the silliness of Odd-See, it was the challenging parallels drawn between Hero and his dog, and the Colonel and Hero that upset the young woman. Loyalty, ownership, freedom, and self-worth are prominent and often uncomfortable themes explored throughout the three acts, but it felt brave and ever-complex, not disrespectful. By craftily and boldly juggling these important themes—and a handful more—with “Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, and 3),” Suzan-Lori Parks has delivered both a grounded, oft-unheard slave narrative and a perennial tale of the struggles of being human.

 

FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2, & 3). LOEB DRAMA CENTER, 60 BRATTLE ST., CAMBRIDGE. THROUGH 3/1. FOR SHOWTIMES AND TICKETS, VISIT AMERICANREPERTORYTHEATER.ORG 

SUSANNA JACKSON
Related posts
  • SUSANNA JACKSON
    https://digboston.com/author/susanna-jackson/
    AGENT OF CHAOS
  • SUSANNA JACKSON
    https://digboston.com/author/susanna-jackson/
    TILT SHIFT: 'A FUTURE PERFECT' PREMIERES WITH SPEAKEASY
  • SUSANNA JACKSON
    https://digboston.com/author/susanna-jackson/
    ICYMI: REWIND TO THE BEST OF 2014 CINEMA AT THE BRATTLE
  • SUSANNA JACKSON
    https://digboston.com/author/susanna-jackson/
    BREAK THE CHAINS: BOSTON'S ALL GENDER, ALL GENRE DANCE PARTY

Filed Under: A+E, Performing Arts Tagged With: A.R.T., american repertory theatre, confederate, father comes home from the wars, harvard square, homage, jo bonney, Loeb Drama Center, pulitzer, slaves, Suzan-Lori Parks

WHAT’S NEW

Photo of Karyna Oliinyk, courtesy of Karyna Oliinyk

Local Photographer Lives with War at a Distance

State Wire: Wraparound Services Spotlighted For Community Action Month

State Wire: Wraparound Services Spotlighted For Community Action Month

Diabetes Researcher Claims She Was Unlawfully Denied Entry To US

Diabetes Researcher Claims She Was Unlawfully Denied Entry To US

Inbox: "Reformers Vow To Press For Changes In the Massachusetts Democratic Party"

Inbox: “Reformers Vow To Press For Changes In the Massachusetts Democratic Party”

MA Lawmakers, Advocates Say Steps Needed To Tackle Ghost Guns

MA Lawmakers, Advocates Say Steps Needed To Tackle Ghost Guns

"Spotted Lanternfly, back_2017-06-16-16.50" by Sam Droege is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0

Invasive Spotted Lanternfly Alert!

Primary Sidebar

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • Morale Violation: Whistle-Blowers Report Culture Of “Retaliation,” “Nepotism” At Parole Agency
  • We Turned the North End Restaurant Lawsuit Against Mayor Wu Into a Musical
  • Do You Want To Work For the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission?
  • Inbox: Red Bull Cliff Diving Returns To Boston Waterfront
  • Drunk On Drug Money, Easthampton Councilors Approve Second Tesla For Police

CURRENT STREET EDITION

DIG 24.08 – 04/21/22

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]