BPF Review: ‘The Last Shall Be First’

LaMall Wilson, Jameeka Gillis, rchie Wilson, Nii Amahtey Sampah, Lynne Vickers, and Terrell Marcus. Photo Courtesy of Heralds of Hope Theater.

The final play in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival is The Last Shall Be First, produced by Heralds of Hope Theater Company, in residence at Sojourner–Douglass College.  The play is based on the story of the Nat Turner rebellion in 1831, even taking its title from a quote from Turner.  It’s a very interesting play, and worth seeing.

Percy W. Thomas has given us a well-written, thought-provoking story of slavery through different sets of eyes.  The story of the leader of Thomas’s fictional rebellion, Monroe, very closely resembles Turner’s, both in character and in action.  Turner did preach to the other slaves, as does Monroe.  He also saw visions he believed to be from God and did listen to them.  That’s what inspired the rebellion and when to do it, just as it guides the fictional Monroe.

Although no American is proud that slavery existed in our history, it is important that we remember and talk about it so that it never happens again.

The play starts by very effectively establishing the relationship between Monroe, played by Archie D. Williams, Jr., and his wife, Cherry, played by Natasha Marie White. They are a loving couple, like any other, except that legally, they cannot be married. (This is later contrasted with the Massa’s marriage, which is legal, but more for display purposes than anything else.)  Naturally enough, they object to being owned by another man, but Massa – whose name is Ezekie Potter (Richard Peck) – is a relatively good owner, he does treat them well.  Granted, he does it for business reasons – happy, healthy slaves work harder and increase profits – but at least he does it.  And he does consider them people, albeit in the lowest form.  He tries to communicate this to one son, Jeremiah (Micah Chalmer), even going so far as to say the overseer who was killed by Cherry’s sister (more on that later) brought it on himself by the way he treated them. It is a little difficult to imagine any slave owner saying a white overseer deserved to be killed, but the point is made.  Jeremiah is having none of this nice-guy attitude; he believes whipping is the way to control slaves.  Massa’s other son, Benjamin (Joshua Singer), is the polar opposite: small and compact where Jeremiah is large and loud, and believes slaves are people and should be treated as such.

Cherry (Natasha White) and Monroe (Archie Williams) comfort each other. Photo Courtesy of Heralds of Hope Theatre.

The meat of the play is Monroe planning and carrying out a take-over of the farm, which is discussed many times with a handful of other slaves whom Monroe trusts.  As with Nat Turner’s real story, they do it when Massa and family will be out of town for a few days, so it succeeds pretty easily.  Its scope was not as great as Turner’s; there is a surprisingly low body count, and it ends with Monroe forcing Massa to sign a document freeing all the slaves.  No surprises there.

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