Review: HAVING OUR SAY at Primal Forces

In 1993, New York Times journalist Amy Hill Hearth wrote an article introducing the public to "Two Maiden Ladies, with Century-Old Stories to Tell." These ladies, known as the Delany Sisters, have experienced life in the post-Civil-War South, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement. Hearth would later compile their oral histories into a book titled Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years. This book and the sisters' life stories can be seen as a crash course in the experience of educated African Americans during the 20th century.

Their father, a former slave, was elected as the first African-American bishop in the Episcopal Church. After being raised in Raleigh, NC, the Delany Sisters moved to New York, where they graduated Columbia University. Elder sister Sarah (aka "Sadie," played by Avery Somers) was involved in the integration of New York City's public schools as the city's first black high school home economics teacher. Younger sister Elizabeth (aka "Bessie," played by Karen Stephens) became the first black female dentist in New York State

As they tell their stories, Bessie and Sadie reminisce about times of sorrow. Bessie recalls a time where she was almost lynched for talking back to a white man before boarding a train. Sadie later discusses the grief she experienced losing her mother at age 69. However, both sisters display a shining sense of optimism. Sadie even says that "life is too sour, and it's up to you to make it sweet."

Having Our Say was later adapted for the stage by playwright and director Emily Mann. The play began its life at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ before completing a ten-month Broadway run at the Booth Theatre in 1995. While Having Our Say was nominated for three Tony Awards (including Best Play), the show is rarely performed today.

Having Our Say recently opened at Boca Raton's Sol Theatre, where it was produced by Primal Forces. This production, under the direction of Genie Croft, featured powerhouse performances by Stephens and Somers.

Both actresses were faced with the challenge of breathing life into interviews given by the century-old Delany sisters. Audiences can expect performances that are not only believable but warm and welcoming--as if they were talking with the real-life sisters in their Westchester home.

Playing the role of the feisty Bessie, Stephens utilizes a balance of self-deprecating humor with restraint and stoicism. Physically, Stephens utilizes a low and heavy gait to add age to her century-old character. Stephens accentuates Bessie's brash and no-nonsense demeanor in her performance-coloring even the most pathos-driven moments with a sarcastic tone. As Stephens interacts with Somers' Sadie, her responses are genuine yet sassy-never milking a single line of dialogue for laughs.

As the more sensitive Sadie, Somers allows her vulnerability as an actress to shine through. At the beginning of the first act, Somers' character is seen as sweet and motherly. However, throughout the evening, Somers takes the audience on an emotional journey, struggling to hold back tears in the middle of Act Two, when Sadie copes with the sudden loss of her mother. There is a feeling of sentimentality in Somers' performance. Somers is able to create an emotional attachment to any object that she holds onstage-every glass, book, and photograph has a vivid background story.

When staging Having Our Say, Croft effectively utilizes the theatre's tiny playing space to create a homey atmosphere. She uses the intimacy of Sol Theatre's tight space to break the fourth wall in a comfortable manner, developing a communal relationship between the actors and the audience.

This level of intimacy is enhanced by Nicole DeCicco's scenic design. On stage, the audience gets to see a living room and a small, old kitchen with a functioning sink and 1980's refrigerator. Photos of the Delany family hang on the walls Throughout the show, projections appear through a window depicting black-and-white photographs from the Delany sisters' lives.

Primal Forces' Having Our Say brings two talented South Florida actresses together in a beautifully-staged production. Audiences will resonate with the play's themes of optimism, the value of family, and what it truly means to fight for justice.

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Primal Forces presents

Having Our Say

By Emily Mann. Adapted from the book by Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth.

At the Sol Theatre. 3333 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL 33431.

Running Now until February 3, 2019.

Produced by Keith Garsson. Directed by Genie Croft.

Starring Avery Somers* and Karen Stephens*.

*Members of the Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Scenic Design by Nicol DeCicco. Lighting Design by Guy Haubrich. Costume Design by Alberto Arroyo. Sound Design by David Hart.

Run Time: Two hours with a ten-minute intermission.

For tickets and more information, please go online to www.primalforces.com or call (866) 811-4111.

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