Show and Tell #1: After the Revolution

            The play I chose to read is After the Revolution by Amy Herzog, and was first written and produced in 2010. The play had its world premiere as a summer stock production in the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and was later transferred to an Off-Broadway run by Playwrights Horizons, where it opened in November of 2010 (Herzog 15). For this play, Herzog has received a John Gassner Award by the Outer Critics Circle, which awards new American playwrights (Playbill), and the New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award (Playbill). After the Revolution has been published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc., and can be purchased in a set along with 4000 Miles.

            After the Revolution is about the complex relationships and politics of the Joseph family, about ten years before 4000 Miles begins. The protagonist is Emma Joseph, granddaughter of Vera and Joe, and the plot follows her path to discovery and acceptance of her family’s Marxist past. The play opens with a family party to celebrate Emma’s law school graduation, where it is apparent that Emma has chosen to follow the family tradition of being a political activist. In the midst of her success with the Joe Joseph Fund and its ongoing bid to release death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, a soon-to-be published book reveals that Joe had sold American secrets to the Soviet Union during World War II. When her father, Ben, confirms that he has known this since his childhood, Emma is outraged that her entire family has kept her in the dark for so long, as both the reputation of the fund and Mumia’s life are at stake. Through conversations with her primary benefactor, her boyfriend, and individuals in her family, Emma realizes that her family’s history is bigger than herself, and that the only way to move forward is to accept it and take pride in her grandfather’s defiant actions.

            One interesting dramaturgical choice is that Joe Joseph, whose actions are the play’s central conflict, is deceased by the time the plot begins. One of Herzog’s production notes states that the setting is in “June of 1999: a year and a half after Joe Joseph’s death,” which means that the audience only has the characters’ personal thoughts, opinions, and memories to piece together the kind of person Joe was. After Emma researches Joe’s official trial, she learns “He flat out denie[d] committing espionage,” even though his family and now the whole world know that he was lying in court. Considering that the play revolves around the idea of family history and the secrets that emerge, it is interesting that the one person who can set the record straight is no longer present. Without Joe to personally defend himself against the allegations of treason, the characters have more freedom to express their opinions and theories on his political views. In addition to this, there is greater pressure on them, as Joe’s legacy is their responsibility to uphold.
           Another noteworthy dramaturgical choice is Herzog’s decision to end the play with Vera expressing her disapproval of all of Emma’s choices. After the build-up of deciphering how the Joseph family will recover from the scandal and once Emma finally accepts her grandfather’s actions and makes her final decisions regarding the future of the Joe Joseph Fund, Emma reads Vera her official public statement regarding the whole affair, only to learn that her grandmother “[doesn’t] agree with a lot of it.” Vera expresses that all Emma has done is “named [her] grandfather’s name,” implying that all of the personal development Emma made throughout the few months of the affair is nothing but superficial. Despite the entire plot revolving around Emma, it is Vera who voices the closing lines of the play, stating to her, “I love you and I’m sorry I can’t agree with you. But progress? I’m afraid not. No.” Instead of ending the play with Emma exhibiting contentment and personal accomplishment as is expected, Herzog chooses to keep the play open-ended, showing that the situation is not black and white, and is undeniably more complex than Emma can resolve with a simple speech.

Works Cited:
Herzog, Amy. 4000 Miles and After the Revolution: Two Plays. Theatre Communications Group. New       York, New York. 2011. Print.