American Tract, An

In American Tract, single mom Anne Jackson (Darlene Bel Grayson), an African-American nurse, inherits a house from the white man she looked after for many years. Located in the planned community of Park Circle, the house is a world away from the inner-city projects she called home for many years. Park City seems like paradise--until she and her two kids, Jimmy (Preston Parker) and Rodney (Larry "Bam" Hall), come smack up against the hidden realities of life in the lilywhite suburbs. Now crime, drugs and gambling are replaced by a whole set of other, more insidious problems -- racism, class war, snobbism.

Anne's boyfriend Earl (Carl Crudup) isn't surprised by this turn of events, as he harbors no illusions about white folks or the suburbs. "You're asking for trouble," he tells Anne and tries hard to convince her to sell the house. But Anne is a feisty, courageous woman who is ready to do battle to provide a better life for her kids.

American Tract dramatizes Anne's valiant fight to triumph over her enemies and hold on to her little piece of the American Dream.

Powerfully acted by Grayson, Anne becomes a genuine hero during the course of the play, despite being sorely tested not only by her scheming white neighbors (Darrell Philip, Jennifer Lamar and Maurice Weiss) but by Rodney, a surly teenager who desperately misses his old life in the projects. Fortunately, Rodney is befriended by Kim (Miriam Korn), the 16-year-old girl who lives next door, and Jimmy finds a pal as well in David (David Chandler); together these young white kids provide the humanity and decency so lacking in their elders.

American Tract paints a tough, unsentimental picture of black/white relations today, but it also manages to finds glimmers of hope and harmony as well.