Whitesville at Open-Door Playhouse

Open-Door Playhouse continues to present plays in podcast form. Its upcoming play Whitesville is a full-length, three-act play. Each act will be presented in a separate podcast episode online. Act One  will debut on February 13, 2024, Act Two on February 14, and Act Three on February 15 at http://opendoorplayhouse.org All three acts will continue subsequently to be available on the website.

            A white police captain, his white wife, and their two adopted Black teen children try to keep their family from being torn apart as their town and the nation become engulfed in protests in the immediate aftermath of the murder of George Floyd.

            The Clayton family has always closed ranks when it comes to emotional challenges, including facing off with those who would confront their mixed-race family. This time they are struggling to see eye-to-eye in real time to the news of a Black man who died under the knee of a white cop while also coming to grips with the family secret of how Isabelle and Jason ended up being adopted by Max and Meredith Clayton.

            Winesville, or "Whitesville" as it's known across rural Indiana, quickly becomes a powder keg as the town's small population of Black residents, including Jason and Isabelle, can remain silent no longer. They begin marching for reform in opposition of Max and the town’s mostly-white police force creating a scenario none of them ever thought possible -- children facing off with their police officer father during violent protests while their mother is caught in the middle.

            When a curfew and other measures only lead to growing unrest, outside protestors and state police converge on Whitesville for one final, massive protest that most fear will turn deadly, leaving the Clayton family with a night of personal choices that will change each of them forever.

            Rachel Berney Needleman directs a cast that includes David Purdam, Goreti da Silva, Justice Davis, Maria Katre, Gilbert Glenn Brown, and Omari Williams.

            Eric Mansfield is the playwright.