'Harriet Jacobs' holds candle to sadness of slavery
In the 1830s, a young slave woman named Harriet Jacobs drilled a hole in the wall of the tiny attic where she lived in hiding from a hateful slave owner.
The hole let in a ray of sunshine.
In 2008, Steppenwolf Theatre for Young Adults' premiere of "Harriet Jacobs" reveals the wrenching injustices of slavery. And though it doesn't spare us any of the cruel details, it also lets in its own sunshine.
Yes, Harriet is constantly threatened with rape by the slave-owning master and with vindictiveness by his jealous wife. Yes, she hides in the roof rafters of her free grandmother's house for seven years, preferring real rats to the slave master. And yes, her heart breaks with the meanness of what her fellow slaves endure.
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But the play doesn't sink under all this weight. Instead, playwright Lydia Diamond and director Hallie Gordon manage to balance the darkness with light.
They show the delight young Harriet takes in flirting with her suitor, Tom, the warmth of her conversations with Grandma in the kitchen and the buoyant spirit that keeps Harriet sane as she plans her escape to the North.
The real Harriet Jacobs made it to New York and wrote a book (upon which Diamond based this play) that enlightened Northerners about the horrors of slavery. Around the time of the Civil War, she founded a center to help slaves who made it to the North.
Steppenwolf's production is a worthy tribute to this heroine.
Nambi E. Kelley makes a quietly powerful, eloquent Harriet. She leads a capable cast, including Celeste Williams, who exudes both wisdom and sternness as Grandma.
Diamond's adaptation of Jacobs' 19th century prose sparkles with life. She does interesting things with the organization of the piece, breaking up the main narrative about Harriet with soliloquies from various slave characters. That provides a fuller picture of slaves' travails.
And she gives Jacobs' experiences immediacy, making us feel her desperation as the predatory slave master bears down on her.
Director Hallie Gordon took a play about being confined in a small space and gave it a big quality. She incorporates movement, staging and haunting spirituals to move this beyond one woman's story and evoke a shared experience.
Collette Pollard's set, which is plastic enough to suggest the plantation house, grandma's house and the tiny attic, adds to the effect.
And lighting designer JR Lederle turns up and down the wattage to suggest mood, from the brightness of happier times to Harriet's one little light in the attic. Simple, but it symbolizes her will to carry on.
"Harriet Jacobs"
3 1/2 stars out of four
Location: Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago
Times: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays, through March 2.
Running Time: One hour 40 minutes
Tickets: $20. Target 2-for-2 Sunday matinees are $10. (312) 335-1650. www.steppenwolf.org.
Parking: Structure behind Borders bookstore, on the southeast corner of North Avenue and Halsted Street costs $12. Steppenwolf has a parking garage just south of the theater but it tends to fill up.
Box office: (312) 335-1650. www.steppenwolf.org.
Rating: Suitable for ages 12 and up.