By May Mahala, August Wilson Dramaturgical Fellow

Mahala: This season seems to focus on musicals or plays about musicians. Can you talk about that choice and how this play fits into your vision for this season?

Bellamy: Yes, all the plays refer to music. There are people like Amiri Baraka who say that the primary language of black people is music. The music is always there. What I have tried to do this season is highlight and acknowledge that music. Penumbra is typically known for hard hitting, serious drama. I wanted this season to include humor and music to reflect more of the totality of black culture.

Mahala: Peggy, the main character, is very concerned about appearances and social clout. Do you think this play says anything about how class operates as a social factor within the black community?

Bellamy: It certainty does, and it’s very complicated. In black theatre history you have plays like Abram Hill’s Strivers Row that comment on the black middle class, and there are a lot of plays that have been written prompting the black middle class to accept social responsibility and not to forget the straights from which they came. This play is perceptive in that the family money is made from being in the funeral business. I think this is unique to the black community, that some of the most well off people are funeral home owners. It’s a comment on what’s going on in the community. August Wilson said, “There’s more people dying than getting saved.” The money that Sam makes as the funeral owner allows him to marry Peggy, who is a kind of trophy wife. She comes from the big city and has her own ideas of class and culture which she brings to this small town in South Carolina.

Mahala: What do you think this play says about family?

Bellamy: What happens inside the family and what the family allows to be shown on the outside are two different things. Blue symbolizes the dirty past that is swept under the rug, but he is also the spice that gives them life. I think this play explores public persona versus private persona. It also depicts the way wealth and values are passed down from generation to generation and opens a discussion about whether or not those values are synonymous with integrity. I think for the most part, the characters in this play do have integrity. These are very responsible people, although some of them have acted irresponsibly. The characters are very human and empathetic.

Mahala: What are your hopes for this production?

Bellamy: Everything we do at Penumbra is a slice of black life, a little prism that highlights one portion of the life. I hope we can have a little fun, because this is a fun piece, and also examine how this play interacts with class, wealth, and family. In terms of the musical component of the play, I think of the blues as a way of life. A tinge of blue is always there in black culture and it casts a different hue upon life. I hope this production reflects that.