(2002) At Manuel Dominguez High School ("D-High"), a ghetto educational institution in Compton, Calif., known for its athletics program, not its academic achievements ("homecoming, riots, graduation"), no one on the faculty had managed to produce a play in 20 years. Two teachers, Catherine Borek and Karen Greene, recruit students to enact Thornton Wilder's stage drama - clips from the 1977 production with Hal Holbrook, Robby Benson, and Glynnis O'Connor appear throughout director Scott Hamilton Kennedy's documentary - the American play with the most performances.

One student in the cast (all of whom are African-American or Hispanic) describes it as "Romeo and Juliet mixed with Cosby." As the student actors begin to learn their lines, some make fun of Wilder's language, comment on the white characters ("I never knew any family like that"), express difficulty in understanding roles ("I've never seen a real father figure").

"Important messages: being born, falling in love, dying," the only Caucasian Borek asserts in defense of selecting this play: "Those are things that happen in any culture, and it was always in the back of my head that we'd make it apply to them." With Greene, who's black, Borek emphasizes to the students the uniqueness of individuals versus stereotypes, urging them to incorporate aspects of themselves into their characters.

An adopted girl tells of how her mother, a prostitute, one day dropped her off at the babysitter's as usual but then never came back. A boy shares a photo taken of himself with President Bill Clinton. Another girl says her dad's been in prison all of her life; she resides with her auntie. "Everybody was my damn daddy," says another boy.

Denied use of the gymnasium by the basketball coach, the students practice in the cafeteria without a stage, which will be available only the night before their first performance in front of the public. Two weeks before opening night, no one is off-book yet; the actors playing George and Emily are embarrassed about kissing for the wedding scene.

However, for the third act, most of these kids already have had personal experiences with death. "Everyone knows that something's eternal," says Holbrook.

As the waning days approach curtain call, the demands being made on their time to practice and improve develop serious stresses within the cast; Borek's repeated exhortations to learn their lines and constructive criticism (if one student fails to follow through, it will affect everyone) cause friction; most of the principal members of the cast cease coming to rehearsals. "Everybody was ready to quit," admits one student.

Nevertheless, the show goes on: a sold-out crowd of 150 attends opening night. "This is the way we were," proclaims the girl in the role of the narrator on stage. With their souls out, every one of the original cast stays with the play, earning plaudits, compliments, and confidence. "I didn't expect it to be that good," says a mother afterward.

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Copyright © 2009 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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