A Play About Race Meant To Make Its Audience Cringe
Viv pushes Cass to call the police in Rachel Lynett’s “Well Intentioned White People.” Photo courtesy of Barrington Stage Company
In her new show, “Well Intentioned White People,” playwright Rachel Lynett continues the conversation about race in America. The play finishes its premiere run at Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, this week.
Actions speak louder than words, it’s said, and when they only appear to be “good” actions, they can also cause a mess of problems.
The action on stage in “Well Intentioned White People” begins in an apartment shared by Cass, a black college professor in her mid-30s, and Viv, who is a white activist of the same age. The two have recently split up, but still live together.
In the opening moments of the show, we learn there was a racial incident that Cass would rather forget. On stage, she’s sitting calmly on the couch in her apartment when Viv walks in.
Viv is completely flustered. She’s just seen Cass’s car, evidently vandalized.