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Overview

Synopsis

Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks says, “a play is a blueprint of an event: a way of creating and rewriting history.” Through a play, history is born. At a replica of the Great Hole of History, the Foundling Father, calling himself the Lesser Known, impersonates the Great Man Abraham Lincoln. Outfitted with a rocking chair, stove pipe hat, and an assortment of beards the Foundling Father provides tourists the opportunity to play John Wilkes Booth and “assassinate” the president. Between visitors and gunshots, the Foundling Father meditates on the business of history, and how inaccuracies can help tell a more engaging story. Later, at the same replica, his wife Lucy and son Brazil are digging: physically creating a hole in the ground as well as metaphorically searching for evidence of the Foundling Father. The last hours of Lincoln interject into the narrative as the cast of Our American Cousin perform scenes and gunshots ring out. Suzan-Lori Parks’ The America Play is a masterpiece of her Rep & Rev style, as moments are told, retold, revised, and revisited throughout. With her use of historical quotes, intentional misquotes, and folklore, Parks challenges the audience to examine history--and how history is told--and gives us the possibility to write a history that is more inclusive and accurate to the experience of all America.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
1993
Genres
Drama
Settings
Period, Simple/No Set
Time & Place
the Great Hole of History, unspecified time
Cast Size
small
Ideal For
College/University, Community Theatre, Diverse Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Young Adult Characters

Context

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Plot

Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

The Foundling Father

Lead

Male

Non-singer

Lucy

Lead

Female

Non-singer

Brazil

Lead

Male

Non-singer

The Actors (6)

Supporting

Either Gender

Non-singer

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Key Terms

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Videos

Quizzes

Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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Quote Analysis

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Guide Written By:

Cindi Calhoun

Cindi Calhoun

Theatre teacher, director, writer, and seamstress