Show and Tell Post: Wine in the Wilderness

Wine in the Wilderness

By Alice Childress

            Alice Childress is an American playwright, actor, and author.  Childress did not finish high school due to her grandmother’s death.  After she dropped out, she turned to the theater.  She wrote many plays, appeared in many productions, and even started an Off-Broadway union for actors.  In 1969, Wine in the Wilderness first appeared in Boston, Massachusetts on WGBH-TV as part of a series called ‘‘On Being Black.’’  I located this play by using the LSU database; it brought me to the Twentieth Century North American Drama website.

            Wine in the Wilderness focuses mainly on the characters Bill Jameson and Tomorrow-Marie, nicknamed Tomorrow.  The play takes place in Harlem during a race riot.  Bill is working on a triptych, which is a series of three paintings that come together to make one statement.  His statement is supposed to say something about “Black Womanhood”.  The first painting is of an innocent child, the second is of the perfect African woman, and the last one is planned to be of an ugly woman destroyed by today’s society.  Bill’s friend, Sonny-Man, and Sonny-Man’s wife, Cynthia, bring him a woman they believe will fit the last picture.  At first, Bill thinks the woman will be the perfect portrayal of the ugly woman.  As the night continues, Bill learns more and more about Tommy.  The next morning Tommy is made aware of why she is posing for the picture.  An argument breaks out.  Tommy says she is the perfect African woman, or the “Wine in the Wilderness”.  Bill discovers that his original statement is wrong.  He decides to instead focus on the beauty of black womanhood today and how the women are different, they are fighters, and they are independent.

            The dramaturgical choice to set the play in the middle of a race riot helped set the tone.  The play could have stood alone without including the race riot aspect.  Childress would have still been able to end the play with Bill discovering what true black womanhood was without the riot.  I think adding it into the play was a good choice though.  It helped to emphasize the issue of race, the struggle of the black woman, and the beauty of black strength.  The riot allowed the characters to be at their lowest of lows.  And this is good because it shows how even though things are still bad we can have the strength to get through it.  Tommy is enhanced by the riot.  Meaning that the riot allows her normal behavior to be a little amped up because of the recent race issues.  Childress’s choice to include the riot brought the play to another level, a level with a little more intensity, which made the play more interesting.

            The scene where Bill is discussing his “Wine in the Wilderness” painting to someone on the phone and Tommy is behind a screen changing is a strong dramaturgical choice to me.  Childress places the two characters in separate areas so they cannot see each other.  Tomorrow can hear Bill and she believes he is talking about her.  This creates dramatic irony.  We know that Bill is actually talking about the painting, but Tommy thinks he is talking about her.  This creates tension in the play and anticipation for the reader.  The reader is waiting to see when Tommy will find out the truth.  Using this dramatic irony, Childress sucks you into the play while you anxiously read on to see what happens next.  I thought this choice was strong because it shows the audience Tommy and Bill’s feelings in that moment.  We know that Tommy feels one way about Bill, but Bill currently does not feel that way about her. 

            Childress chooses to emphasize the power and beauty of black womanhood.  I think her choices directly enforce her theme in the play while keeping the audience hooked.  Race riots, dramatic irony, and wine in the wilderness all bring us to an interesting play. 

Childress, Alice. Wine in The Wilderness. Electronic Edition by Alexander Street Press, L.L.C., 2013. Web. 4 Dec 2013.