Black theater in a white town

Black theater in a white town
Spencer Scott Barros 
Photo by Alexander Wilburn

In Central Harlem, N.Y., emerging Black writers come to Liberation Theatre Company to hone their artistry on the stage. Co-founder Spencer Scott Barros has forged a space to strengthen dynamic Black voices charged with something to say. This fall, he’s far from home, up in the countryside of Connecticut, directing “A Raisin In The Sun” for Sharon Playhouse. He’s a Black director working on an iconic Black play, in a town that’s  still 90% white. Barros isn’t deterred.

Alexander Wilburn: “A Raisin in the Sun” — a staple of the American stage, but also a milestone for African American theater. The first Broadway production written by a Black female playwright and led by a Black director. What does the play have to tell us today?

Spencer Scott Barros: If we look at the state of race relations within the U.S. — Black people still don’t make nearly as much as their white counterparts, that hasn’t changed much from the ’50s. Even the issue of abortion, which is discussed in the play, is relevant with what happened recently with Roe v. Wade. The notion of Black people wanting to move to a better life, having dreams of a better experience, that’s still happening, but now that happens through the lens of gentrification. So there are a lot of themes that are relevant for today’s audience. This story could still happen today.

As a Black director staying in Salisbury at one of the board members’ guest homes, I could count the number of people of color I’ve seen on  one hand. I’m sure people are looking at me like, “Who is he? Why is he here?” In the play, the character of Karl Linder doesn’t want this family moving into this all-white neighborhood because it will make the white people uncomfortable. People are much more savvy today, they wouldn’t come out and say that. But you can sense there’s an uncomfortability (sic). “Oh, you’re just here for a short period of time? That’s better, I can like you.” But if I said I was looking at homes to buy? I’m sure I would be received in a very different light.

What’s it like performing this show for a majority, if not completely, white audience?

I had really great conversations with Justin [Boccitto, Playhouse Interim Artistic Director] and Michael [Kevin Baldwin, Director of Education] before I accepted the offer to direct. They were very honest about their 99% white subscription base. Outside of theater, I do diversity, equity and inclusion workshops for corporations, I’m very used to having uncomfortable conversations where I am either the only person of color in the room, or one of very few. [A Raisin In The Sun] isn’t an all Black cast — there is one major white character. For this theater, we’re playing him as a mirror to the subscription base that comes here. He’s a reflection of how they may be, or what may be hidden in their own subconscious. As I said, people today are savvy. They’re not going to say, “I don’t want these types of people living here.” I think the mirror is: we like to say and do all the right things, we like to present ourselves as inclusive, but our actions may be doing something entirely different.

A really concrete example is that in the play, Linder refers to the Younger family as “you people.” The actor Dick Terhune is so brilliant, he doesn’t overemphasize it, but every time he says it, the Younger family has a different reaction to it, to the words “you people.” I don’t think Linder realizes he’s doing anything, he’s so used to having conversations in his all-white community. So I hope a predominantly white audience might look at that and think, “Hm, I wonder if every time I told a Black person they were so articulate or they spoke so well, did they receive it as the compliment I was intending it to be? Or did they receive it as a racial slur they had to accept?”

Whom do you see as the invigorating voices of Black theater today?

For a while it felt like there was one kind of [Black] story that could be on Broadway and be successful. It would have to have certain types of characters that make non-Black people comfortable. I’ve noticed a change now where writers are saying, “I’m writing my truth and what works for me. If you get it, you get it, and if you don’t, you don’t.” Donja R. Love is a playwright I absolutely adore, a queer Black playwright whose stories are centered around queer Black life, often around being HIV positive. Dominique Morisseaus — I love her voice, it’s very rooted in her history and her Detroit upbringing.

They’re telling their stories their way and they’re not apologetic. Just as we can tell a thousand stories through a white lens, we can tell a thousand stories through a Black lens. As a Black man, I don’t relate to every single aspect of every single Black play I see, but I do love hearing those voices.

“A Raisin In the Sun” opens at Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, Conn., on Oct. 7. For tickets go to www.sharonplayhouse.org

Latest News

A scenic 32-mile loop through Litchfield County

Whenever I need to get a quick but scenic bicycle ride but don’t have time to organize a group ride that involves driving to a meeting point, I just turn right out of my driveway. That begins a 32-mile loop through some of the prettiest scenery in northern Litchfield County.

I ride south on Undermountain Road (Route 41 South) into Salisbury and turn right on Main Street (Route 44 West). If I’m meeting friends, we gather at the parking area on the west side of Salisbury Town Hall where parking is never a problem.

Keep ReadingShow less
Biking Ancramdale to Copake

This is a lovely ride that loops from Ancramdale north to Copake and back. At just over 23 miles and about 1,300 feet of elevation gain, it’s a perfect route for intermediate recreational riders and takes about two hours to complete. It’s entirely on quiet roads with little traffic, winding through rolling hills, open countryside, picturesque farms and several lakes.

Along the way, you’ll pass a couple of farmstands that are worth a quick visit. There is only one hill that might be described as steep, but it is quite short — probably less than a quarter-mile.

Keep ReadingShow less
Taking on Tanglewood

Aerial view of The Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass.

Provided

Now is the perfect time to plan ahead for symphonic music this summer at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Here are a few highlights from the classical programming.

Saturday, July 5: Shed Opening Night at 8 p.m. Andris Nelsons conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Daniil Trifonov plays piano in an All-Rachmaninoff program. The Piano Concerto No. 3 was completed in 1909 and was written specifically to be debuted in the composer’s American tour, at another time of unrest and upheaval in Russia. Trifonev is well-equipped to take on what is considered among the most technically difficult piano pieces. This program also includes Symphonic Dances, a work encapsulating many ideas and much nostalgia.

Keep ReadingShow less
James H. Fox

SHARON — James H. Fox, resident of Sharon, passed away on May 30, 2025, at Vassar Brothers Hospital.

Born in New York, New York, to Herbert Fox and Margaret Moser, James grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. He spent his summers in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, where he developed a deep connection to the community.

Keep ReadingShow less