Graveyard Shift

February 23, 2020

The Goodman Theatre's description for this show reads as follows:

"Janelle, poised to reap the fruits of her labor, relocates from Illinois to Texas in order to give love a chance. Meanwhile, a small-town police officer wrestles with the harsh realities of change. When their worlds collide, both are forced to confront the consequences of an imbalance of power."

That description does not do justice to the immense power & profound impact this show really has. The playwright, Korde Arrington Tuttle, began writing this after learning about Sandra Bland & #SandySpeaks. According to his posts, this took years to write, & after being passed around as just an idea for far too long, The Goodman Theatre chose to premiere it.

What a masterpiece it is.

This play follows a black couple, Janelle & Kane, as they navigate years of loving each other & working to support themselves individually & nurture themselves as a couple. This play also follows 3 police officers that work the "graveyard shift" in their small town of Prairieview, Texas. The play takes time for each character to individually reveal themselves to us. All of them have their flaws, & all of them have their hopes. Something we can all relate to.

There are two "real" moments in the show. The dialogue when the male police officer talks to a student, & when he talks to Janelle. That dialogue was pulled from actual recordings & written in, exactly how it happened in real life. It is shocking. It is unnerving. & it is an open window to our current history & movements.

This play is beautifully written. Half of the time the actors are speaking in a heightened poetic language that's incredibly profound & moving. The other times their words are raw & real & hold nothing back. Pure honesty. Pure feeling.

This show fights for it's voice to be unleashed. It fights for all of the voices that have ever been silenced by police brutality. It is provoking us to start taking a hard look at what is happening in America. It is provoking us to speak up about it. It is provoking change.

From what I can tell, this script has not yet been published & released for other theatres to produce. I hope that changes. For me personally, I plan on reaching out to the playwright/& his team to discuss just that. This show should be produced & performed all over America. & I will do what I can to help make that a reality.

In the meantime, go see it at The Goodman Theatre. It runs February 7 -- March 8, 2020.

I know I plan on seeing it again.