In the projects of Bayou,
Lousisiana, Oya, the main character of In the Red and Brown Water is a track
crazed teen-aged girl. The plot of the play follows her transformation from
girl to woman. Oya deals with the death of her mother, missing her chance at
running track, and a rocky relationship with Shango. While dealing with all of
this, she also has to deal with the fact that she can’t have a baby, something
that she truly wanted. Her hardships finally overcome her and she cuts off her
ear at a moment of insanity, killing herself, and ending the play. What struck
me as the most important thing about the story for Oya was choosing between
what her heart told her and what her mind told her. She wasn’t happy with Ogun
Size, but he was the safe, reliable man in her life. Meanwhile her heart led
her to loving Shango, the unreliable, rocky man in her life. Her happiness and sanity were at stake
for her here and even though she listened to her heart and chose Shango, she
was too late and it resulted in her demise.
Throughout the performance Elegba,
the maturing delinquent, captivated my attention. I loved watching his sass and
immature moments while also seeing him transition into a man. He made some
mistakes along the way, like getting a girl pregnant, but it ended up making
him a better person. He loved having something to call his own. I was also
caught off guard when I revealed that he was not only interested in women, but
in men too. His comedic relief was essential to the plot and I found myself
bursting out in laughter throughout the play. At first I thought I would find
myself hating how the actors say their stage cues but I actually really enjoyed
that aspect of the play. What I did not like as much was how I couldn’t keep up
with some of the slang and language the actors used. I know it was part of the
script, but at points they would be speaking too fast and I found myself
getting lost.
Other than that, I
surprisingly enjoyed all the other aspects of the game. This was not my first
time seeing a live theater performance, but it was my first time seeing one at
Penn State. I was pleasantly surprised the students acting in the play were so
passionate and real. This definitely exceeded my expectations because I did not
expect much going into the performance. The only other live theater
performances I have seen have been big, overdone musicals on Broadway. Compared
to those, this was more real and raw. I loved how the set was simple so the
only thing you really focused on was the individual actors. Overall, I came out
of this experience impressed and intrigued.
