where else could you receive a text at 4:30 on a saturday afternoon and be offered 2 tickets to the last performance of driving miss daisy starring 2 legends? vanessa redgrave and james earl jones on broadway; the richness of their history is palpable. the spontaneity of the night made it even more special.
the play itself is a love story between a jewish woman and a black man that begins in the racist 1950s...the racist 50s. it's such a slice of our history, illustrating hatred based on skin color and religion. and it makes you wonder how far we've actually come. i know obama is in the white house, but that one act does not fix centuries of oppression.
it was an interesting evening to see the play. it ended a day spent thinking and discussing diversity issues and how they apply to independent schools. how far have we come if the need still exists to discuss diversity? as the last curtain call ended, what struck me with such sadness was the thought that this might be the last time either of them performs on broadway.
thank you, melanie!
wwcd:
Well we've come far enough to actually discuss it - at least in certain circles.
ReplyDeleteYes, only in NY! What a remarkable experience.
ReplyDeleteThis conversation will be ongoing all over the world as people contemplate their "differences" and work towards understanding. It may not be skin color, it can be religion, or it might be gender preference or speech impediment, but it is part of the socialization of human beings to identify with a group, and in so doing, separate from "others." I like to imagine that we are evolving beyond using these distinctions as negatives... takes time and the efforts of good hearts and minds like yours.