Strands

"In his harrowing but beautiful Strands, young playwright Eric L. Wilson unravels and reweaves the whole of black men's experience in America into a seamless tour de force," raved the Washington Post. This collage of monologues, songs, and dance speaks of the power of African-American manhood. The piece is driven by the rhythm of the drum, transforming this rhythm from the tribal call all the way to hip-hop. Strands is about family and the power in the father's house. It reveals the struggle, pain and celebration of the journey of a young prince. Spirits from the past lead this journey where the prince encounters the pain of the auction block, the hope of the northern migration, the taste of black power, and the strength of the cultural rebirth. It deals with the African-American male experience and shows the pageantry and epic nature of this story. Strands, the 1992 Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award-winner and participant in the 1993 National Black Theatre Festival, is a powerful, exciting and challenging play. Music in the book.