Friday, September 18 to Saturday, October 3, 2009

Johnny, a papier-mâché artist, lives with his girlfriend, Millie, who supports him financially but doesn’t appreciate his artistic vision. Millie and two friends are arrested at a death penalty protest, sparking an argument, among these four comfortable white Americans, about racial stereotypes and the sincerity and effectiveness of liberal protest, and inspiring Johnny to begin a sculpture about John Brown, the nineteenth-century abolitionist who chose dramatic action over polite protest. When Millie insists that Johnny tear down the sculpture (which is in her living room) Johnny walks out, then returns with a better idea. To raise awareness about injustice in the judicial system, he begins building sculptures of real people unfairly sentenced, including Harlan Russell, an African American death row inmate who may be innocent. This is a play about art, race, and how far well-meaning people will or will not go to uphold their ideals and challenge injustice.