In 1931, Langston Hughes penned “The Black Clown,” a scathing expression of the African-American experience. Nearly 90 years later his words still sting.
“Black — in a white world / Where cold winds blow. / The long struggle for life: / No schools, no work — / Not wanted here; not needed there — / Black — you can die. / Nobody will care,” reads a section of Hughes’ 17-stanza poem.
From the start, Hughes was eager for the piece to have a life beyond the page. Alongside the text, he included vivid mood descriptions as well as instructions calling for his “dramatic monologue” to be “spoken by a pure-blooded Negro in the white suit and hat of a clown, to the music of a piano or orchestra.”
The American Repertory Theater’s world premiere of “The Black Clown” has taken up Hughes’ challenge. Adapted by Davóne Tines ’09 and Michael Schachter ’09, and directed by Zack Winokur of the American Modern Opera Company, the work’s haunting score, staging, and choreography give the poem a renewed urgency, despair, and, ultimately, hope.
