06/07 season
a play with original songs
by tanya barfield
directed by delroy lindo
thrust stage
april 6–may 20, 2007
running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
performance added may 18
the show
interview
KPFA interview with Delroy Lindo (9MB mp3)
When he refuses to attend the Million Man March, an African-American professor finds his personal and professional lives thrown into turmoil. Unable to sleep in the bed abandoned by his wife, Lewis is visited by his ancestors—men who fought to be free, to vote, to obtain justice. Two exceptional actors embody three generations in this powerful new play from a promising young writer. Blue Door is a searing examination of family and identity that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to live with—or escape—the past.
the artists
Oakland’s own Delroy Lindo came to prominence with
Broadway performances in Master Harold and the Boys and Joe
Turner’s Come and Gone. He reinforced his reputation with major
roles in films such as The Cider House Rules, Get Shorty and Malcolm
X. Now Lindo turns his hand to directing on Berkeley Rep’s intimate
Thrust Stage.
Tanya Barfield studied in the exclusive playwriting program
at Juilliard under Christopher Durang and Marsha Norman. She won the Helen
Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, and Ms. Magazine recently
named her “One of the 21 Young Women to Watch in the 21st Century.”
Although her work has been seen at the legendary Humana Festival, the Guthrie
Theater Lab and London’s Royal Court Theatre, this is her first script
to receive a major production.
Read an interview with the playwright from American Theatre magazine.
the buzz
“Delroy Lindo, in his local directorial debut, has staged the 90-minute drama as expertly as it’s performed…Lindo, best known as a distinguished movie actor, has plenty of stage experience…Barfield’s dialogue, with its curiously muscular lyricism, is full of unexpected rewards—sly turns of phrase, choice metaphors and well-chosen bits of African and African American lore…It is an impressive local debut for all four major players, including the widely experienced New York and regional actors David Fonteno and Teagle F. Bougere…Bougere incisively creates the lineage of one family—from slavery through white supremacist terrorism to modern times—as David Fonteno’s magnetically repressed, African American math professor undergoes a long night of soul-searching.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Director Delroy Lindo has done a masterful job…It is a powerful evening, deftly presented by the two men, who are almost consumed by the characters they play, managing to give each specific and effective traits that make them painfully realistic and delightfully human…A remarkable acting job…This unusual story places questions of race, heritage and responsibility on a very personal level…A memorable, eloquent play that will be recalled as much for its clarity as it is for its message.”—Contra Costa Times
“Magnificent! An intense, dramatic experience…Absolutely brilliant performances are turned in by its two-man cast—stage and screen actors David Fonteno and Teagle F. Bougere…It is powerfully directed by prominent actor Delroy Lindo, making his Berkeley Rep directorial debut a huge success…This is must-see theatre.”—KGO Radio
“An intriguing identity quest…Barfield’s attempt to tell some of these generational stories and reclaim as much of the shared past as possible is what gives Blue Door its heft and its heart…The play surges with passion, courage and lyrical beauty…The performances are striking.”—Oakland Tribune
“In its regional premiere at Berkeley Rep, Tanya Barfield’s promising new play Blue Door teases out the variable of racial identity…Delroy Lindo has orchestrated this 90-minute piece with nimble precision…[David] Fonteno imbues Lewis with a grandeur tinged with self-doubt…[Teagle] Bougere fleshes out each ancestory with an uncanny economy…Each moment seems full and ripe with an idiosyncratic sense of truth.”—San Jose Mercury News
add value—free events
free docent presentations
Free docent presentations offer a look inside each play and its development at Berkeley Rep. A 30-minute presentation takes place one hour before every Tuesday and Thursday 8PM performance.
These presentations are made possible by support from American Express.
post-show discussions
Post-show discussions take place on April 26 and May 8 and 11. Stick around for a lively 30-minute Q&A with the cast or other company members.
press photos
student matinee sponsor
season sponsors
