Virgil Tibbs, a California police detective headed home after visiting his family in Alabama, is arrested for WWB — Waiting While Black. He is taken in as a murder suspect by an eager officer and maintains his dignity while the racist members of the three-person police force confirm that they have made a false arrest.
2 comments:
This looks to be a very interesting and captivating play. I for one have lived in the south east almost all of my life so racism is something that i have had sadly had to see and experience the side effects of but have been so graciously lucky enough to have never had to experience it for myself before. I think our current problem with race in America is something that we sometimes need to look back into the past to see and recognize so that we are willing to see our current issues. In today's society we can't forget that race is still an issue even with figures of authority and even with how far we have come as a society. Seeing it on stage can sometime make it more apparent and real for people especially if the association to a place and time isn't always clear. These are the kinds of messages that we want to see in theatre and work on as creators of conversations and public opinion.
It sounds like “In the Heat of the Night,” is a really important play for our generation and for generations to come. I remember watching “Master Harold and the Boys” when I was in high school and theatre’s approach to racism and to present it in its true colors is so important. While I am not from the south, I’ve grown up with some really bad stereotypes of people from the south. Racism has been apparent in America since our founding fathers, but that does not mean it is okay. “In the Heat of the Night” is a play with a very important message. Racism is bad… this is true everywhere, not the just south. To choose to confront racism on stage is a great way to remind people that this permeating force has not gone away, nor will it if we don’t actually address its different forms that are within different sects of America and the world.
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