In the Red and Brown Water

In The Red and Brown Water, by Tarell McCraney, a young woman named Oya lives on the Bayous of Louisiana with her mother, Momma Moja. Oya loves to run, and she is very good at it; so good that she has attracted the attention of the Louisiana State University. They offer her a partial scholarship if she runs with them, but she is forced to decline due to her mother’s failing health. Momma Moja dies later that year, and hardship is compounded upon loss when “State” does not offer her a scholarship the next year, saying that they have found a new number one. Accepting that she is likely not going to be able to leave the bayou, Oya tries to find a man with whom she can start a family. She finds three potential suitors, and for much of the remainder of the play goes back and forth between them as she tries to have children. As the play progresses Oya begins to fear she is barren, a fear that is confirmed by a shaman. Crushed by this, and finding out that the one whom she thought she loved, Shango, was having a baby with another local woman, Oya breaks down and cuts of her ear, handing it to Shango as she bleeds out, pleading with him to remember her.

Throughout the story Oya was trying to go somewhere; to make something out of her life. Originally this was her running, but as that failed she became just as determined to start a family, one that she could raise properly. Oya never achieved this goal, and it was this that in a large part contributed to her eventual suicide.

I really liked the character of Oya. She displayed the most depth, and was fairly tasteful with her emotional buildup and character building. In particular I like the last scene where Shango cradles the “soft of her ear” for the last time. It was very profound and appeared to really touch the audience.

In all honesty this was much better than I had anticipated. The acting was very strong and the play was very exciting and enrapturing was start to finish. I would say that the percussionists might have been a little bit better, as they couldn’t do much to hold a beat, and I thought Ogun could have played his part better, his transitions form one stage of character to another were not very fluid.

This was by no means my first experience with theatre, but my first seeing a production here at Penn State. It was better than many small scale productions I have seen, but I would expect as much considering the caliber of the actors on stage. All in all I found this to be a very intriguing play, and is definitely an encouragement towards going to see other Penn State productions in the future.