To the Promised Land

The world premiere of local playwright Jonathan Gillard Daly’s To the Promised Landattempts to parallel the conditions faced by African Americans in the 1960s with those faced by Jewish immigrants several decades earlier. According pre-show remarks made by First Stage artistic director Jeff Frank, the play is presented as “the company’s gift to our community.”

However, it may be a gift that puzzles the intended recipient. The drama is well-meaning and ambitious, but one fears that the desired audience – children ages nine and up – won’t be able to grasp much of the play’s storyline.

For instance, the play’s Jewish immigrants are represented by the family of Golda Meir (yes, the same one who became Israel’s prime minister in 1969). Meir grew up in Milwaukee, and we see her in the play as a 14-year-old girl. She makes a lot of speeches about equality, etc., much to her mother’s dismay. Her doting mother is not a fan of her daughter’s Socialistic views. She would rather see Golda married off to a wealthy man twice her age than gain notoriety for “stirring things up.”

However, that’s not where the play begins. As it opens, Cliff, an African-American teenager in the 1960s, is shot to death by police. (Thankfully, director Sheri Williams Pannell shows sensitivity in his shooting death.) We learn later that Cliff is an innocent bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Cliff’s death leaves his family without a man in the house. His father (who we never see) was unable to find work in Milwaukee and returned to the South. He mailed money each week to his wife and children.

But Cliff isn’t gone for long. He soon returns to his house – wearing the same outfit that he did when he died. No one can see the ghostly Cliff except his younger sister, Ruth (played in this performance by the exceptionally talented, 14-year-old Lonnae Hickman). One wonders if young audiences can bridge the mental leap required to accept Cliff as a ghost.

Ruth has her own troubles. She skipped a week of school because she is afraid of some older boys who hang out near her bus stop. Her mother, who works as a maid, leaves before Ruth goes to school. So the mother is unaware of Ruth’s absence until her teacher (portrayed by the playwright, Jonathan Gillard Daly) shows up at their house with Ruth’s missed schoolwork.

The large set also may confuse young viewers. At one end is an entrance used by the African-American family. At the other end, Golda Meir’s family does likewise. One might think that both families live in the same house, since the wallpaper is identical throughout the whole set. The costumes provide a clue to the playwright’s intent. Meir’s family dresses in garments appropriate to their era, and the African-American family dresses in outfits from the 1960s. But to young children unfamiliar with either of these time periods, it would be easy to think both families share the same dwelling. This is especially true in the play’s later scenes, in which Ruth and Golda actually speak to one another.

Even the play’s title, “To the Promised Land,” is not referred to in any of the play’s dialogue. The link between the two eras is made when Ruth reads an article about Golda Meir for her homework. One can see the playwright’s attempts to keep the play from getting preachy, but it’s difficult to do when Ruth is asked to stand at a podium and give a brief speech about Golda Meir.

As is consistent with other First Stage shows, the casting and production values are excellent. Particularly noteworthy are performances by D’Monte Henning (Cliff), a newcomer making his First Stage debut, and veteran actors Marvette Knight as Ruth’s mother and Raeleen McMillon as Golda’s mother. They all breathe life into a script that is a flawed, but noble attempt to link the struggles of different ethnic groups.

One hopes that young children can overlook some of the characters’ more adult references (especially to lynchings and Cossacks) in order to catch a glimmer of this play’s message.