In Cristina Anderson’s play, “water” specifically swimming pool water, is used as a metaphor. Here it represents both a life-giving source and the struggles of black folks to be treated equally in our country.
As the play evolves, we discover that the plot is centered around the narrator, Janice (Jennean Farmer) who is uncertain whether she wishes to attend the dedication of an integrated swimming pool in honor of her late father, Edwin (Marcus Henderson). Through a series of flash-backs depicting violence and black history we learn that Edwin fought to integrate swimming pools in a Kansas town, and how his efforts affected his wife, Helen (Chalia La Tour) and daughter. Aunt Gayle and Young Chipper (both characters played by Adrienne S. Wells, help to hold this one act piece together.
The acting is great and the background suggestion of a swimming pool and creative lighting by Emmie Finckel and Alan C. Edwards are outstanding, the play’s unusual structure, which consists of the narrator, non-stop flash backs in time and layering of events were hard for this writer to get used to. While the audience seemed to hesitate in order to digest all this fare, it gave this new work a warm applause.