Overview
BENEVOLENCE explores the impact of the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Chicago youth Emmett Till on two families in the Mississippi Delta, one white (the family of his killers), one black (their neighbors). When the daily routine of a country storekeeper is disrupted by a group of buoyant teens, one of whom whistles at her, from that chance encounter, she is swept into a whirlwind of violence, prosecution, deceit and delusion that pursue her till the end of her days. In a nearby town, an auto mechanic and his wife struggle to hold their family together after his infidelity, but when he witnesses evidence of Till’s murder, the incident tears at the very fabric of their lives. Based on actual events, the third play in Bayeza’s THE TILL TRILOGY grapples with the enduring legacy of American racial violence through this intimate story of two women in quest of love and redemption.
Casting & Production
Casting
CAROLINE BRYANT — 21, storekeeper of Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market in Money Mississippi, wife of Roy Bryant.
RAY BRYANT — 24, a labor contractor, Roy’s fraternal twin brother.
ROY BRYANT — 24, storekeeper of Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market, part-time truck driver.
JJ BREELAND — 67, defense attorney in the trial of Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam for the murder of Emmett Till.
DAVID KILLINGSWORTH — 32, an FBI investigator.
CLINTON MELTON — 29, Glendora, Mississippi gas station mechanic, husband to Bea Melton.
BEULAH “BEA” MELTON — 26, housewife, seamstress, churchgoer and mother.
MARY JOHNSON — 9, precocious Glendora resident.
MEDGAR EVERS — 30, Civil Rights activist and NAACP field reporter.
DELORES GRISHAM — 65, Bea and Melton’s oldest daughter.
Production Notes:
The Till Trilogy is a three-play cycle. The titles can be presented together in rep , or each title is available to be produced individually. A Manuscript Edition of each of the titles is available now, while the Acting Edition is being prepared for publication.
Setting
Place
Mississippi, the towns of Money and Glendora and surrounding areas.
Time
Late August 1955 to today, the scenes fluid.
Reviews
Gut-wrenching…powerful storytelling that takes one’s breath away…Remarkable!”
—Talkin’ Broadway
“Chillingly lyrical … haunting … powerful.”
—The Washington Post
“Tectonics shudder underneath Bayeza’s new play…uncanny surrealism…gothic
intricacy…gorgeous literary writing…a rich, poetic retelling…spine-tingling.”
—Minnesota Monthly
“Pin-drop spare…It burns down focus like a magnifying glass [and] stares at its
characters until they either fry under the heat or twist free.”
—District Fray
“At the end of this first act, I wondered, ‘How can benevolence come from this?’…The
second act…realization rushes in like a wave.”
—DC Arts
