Parks marries the interests of theatre kids and history buffs into one enthralling play.&nbsp;

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks reintroduced Sally Hemings, an African American who was Thomas Jefferson's slave, with the avant-garde method of infusing a play within a play. Many have tried to touch on Hemings' story, and as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/10/theater/suzan-lori-parks-sally-hemings-sally-and-tom.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>'s Salamishah Tillet put it, Hemings was a figure of "endless fascination," as she was a woman who left no trace of her story for historians to review. This resulted in Hemings' being either deprioritized from the history books or omitted altogether.&nbsp;
Parks, however, used her dual narrative play, Sally &amp; Tom, to highlight both the erasure of black women in America's history and America's present day. The play's premise follows a theater troupe called Good Company in their journey toward producing a play about Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson titled "The Pursuit of Happiness.&rdquo; Luce, played by actress Sheria Irving, is an African American playwright and actress who plays the principal character of Sally. Her boyfriend and the play&rsquo;s director, Mike, portrayed by actor Gabriel Ebert, plays Tom. With this dual narrative structure, Parks aims to highlight the complicated truth around the silencing of black stories&mdash;Luce struggles to control the narrative of her play, which is then reflected in the depiction of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson within Luce's "The Pursuit of Happiness.&rdquo; Not only does Parks highlight the injustice done to Hemings' story, but she also highlights how it's being done, which makes for concepts that are meta and forces the audience to be cerebral while digesting this play.&nbsp;
The play's clever structure has unsurprisingly received rave reviews. Jesse Green for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/16/theater/sally-and-tom-review-suzan-lori-parks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> applauds the play's layered commentary on race relations and power dynamics, wherein he says, "In the relationship of Luce and Mike, the power imbalances and betrayals of antebellum America (and, let&rsquo;s face it, post-bellum too) get replayed like long-scripted roles. What Hemings secured for herself through Jefferson, with an unknowable titration of guile, disgust, and affection, Luce secured similarly through Mike. And what Jefferson does to honor or abrogate his part of the bargain, Mike does too."
Bob Verini from <a href="https://nystagereview.com/2024/04/16/sally-tom-follies-of-a-founding-father/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Stage Review</a> says&nbsp;Sally &amp; Tom is "stylish and beautifully acted" and notes that the play bridges the 18th and 21st centuries in a way "that audiences should find provocative and even thrilling."&nbsp;
No play, however, is without its critics. Sara Holdren for <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/theater-review-suzan-lori-parkss-sally-and-tom.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vulture</a> felt that the mission, or rather, the themes of the play, never fully emerged. "There&rsquo;s something soft about the play&mdash;a little ingenuous and underbrewed. I kept waiting for the turn, the slap in the face. In all fairness, I&rsquo;ve been coached to expect it," notes Holdren.&nbsp;
Nevertheless, the unique structure of the play and its messaging of race relations in both theatre and history make Sally &amp; Tom a must-watch.
Sally &amp; Tom, written by Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Steve H. Broadnax III, is currently open until June 2, 2024, in Martinson Hall. More information on ticket availability and pricing can be found on <a href="https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2324/sally--tom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their website</a>.

Photo via Instagram/@publictheaterny

‘Sally & Tom’ by Pulitzer Prize Winner Suzan-Lori Parks Receives Rave Reviews

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