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By Amiri Baraka/ LeRoi Jones
Directed by Erica Sutherlin
American Stage is presenting “Dutchman” for its last production of the season. And because it is being directed by Erica Sutherlin, the production makes history for American Stage as its first mainstage production directed by a Black woman.
The stage floor’s sunk into the ground, covered in shadowy hues of blues and grays. It looks as though it were the depths of the sea floor. All around the stage, large jagged wooden planks jut up from the ground as if they were pieces of a ship that broke apart and sank.
It’s a Tuesday night at The Factory St. Pete and Erica Sutherlin, who is making “herstory” as the first Black woman director at American Stage, has brought together a panel to discuss Amiri Baraka, the man behind the upcoming play “Dutchman.”
“It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to,” intones Leslie Gore just before perky Jamaican chanteuse, Millie Small, reminds us that “My Boy Lollipop” is “as sweet as candy.” We’re firmly in 1964 where LBJ is about to sign the sweeping Civil Rights Act.
Potent. Stinging. Infuriating. Grab-your-collar-and-shake-you-awake. Rattling. Terrifying. Pummeling. Scalding, like hot coffee splashed in the face. These are some of my first reactions after watching the remarkably staged and still timely DUTCHMAN at American Stage.
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