The America Play

by Suzan-Lori Parks

Once upon a time there was a theme park called the Great Hole of History. It was a popular spot for honeymooners who, in search of "post-nuptial excitement," would visit this hole and watch the daily historical parades. One of these visitors was a man who has now come to call himself The Foundling Father. He was a digger by trade a grave digger and he was struck by the size of the Hole and the pageantry of the place. He returns home with his wife, Lucy, a woman who keeps secrets for the dead, and together they start a mourning business. Unfortunately, our hero can't get the Great Hole pageantry out of his head; the echoes of history speak to him and call him to greatness. At rise we meet this Foundling Father. He has left his wife and child and gone out west to dig a huge replica of the Great Hole of History. In the hole sits our hero. He is dressed like Abraham Lincoln, complete with beard, wart, frock coat and stove pipe hat. He tells us the story of his own life (in the third person) and tells us that he has become a very successful Abraham Lincoln impersonator! He's so successful that people actually pay a penny to re-enact Lincoln's assassination, using our impostor-hero and a phony gun. Eventually the Father dies, and the second act sees his wife Lucy and thrity-five-year-old son, Brazil, a professional weeper, visit the hole to dig for his Father's remains. Listening to the past through her deaf-horn, Lucy hears echoes of gunshots and lurid stage-shows. When they dig up the Foundling Father's body (he's alive) they decide they have to lay him to rest for good. In the play's last image, his son is trying to climb a ladder out of the Hole of History while the Foundling Father sitsstarkly on his own coffin, refusing burial.

Genres: Plays, School, Theatre, Read For School, Drama

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Suzan-Lori Parks is an award-winning American playwright and screenwriter. She was a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant in 2001, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002. She is married to blues musician Paul Oscher.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parks makes several great points about the black experience in the United States, but if you read this you have to struggle to get those points. I think this is a perfect example of a play that is meant to be seen and not read.

[Kshitij Chaurel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much experimental. In the name of writing uniquely readers must not be compelled for hard effort.

[Jon Hewelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this play a lot.

I don't think I understand much of it, but I like it, like the mood and the atmosphere and the feeling it evokes. It's something I'd like to see performed someday.

Suzan-Lori Parks is a fabulous playwright and her most famous work Topdog/Underdog, is a must-read. But absolutely check out The America Play. It's stunning.

[Ze · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not understand a single thing while reading this. If I have seen it on stage maybe things would have been different but alas I cannot.
Even after diving deep into the text in my drama course I still couldn’t connect or comprehend the story.

[By The Cover · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m so sorry to rate this book so low, I just rate based on how I’m feeling so i can keep track of how I felt about a book when I read it. I have no doubt this is full of meaning that I’m just not getting, and I’m really interested in learning more about it but yeah, I think overall this is a good example of how sometimes it’s better to see a play than to read it

[OK · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit over my head but very moved by Parks' skill in wielding "rep and rev" as a way to build associations and meaning. Also found the idea of the "great hole" very thought-provoking -- Brazil, the son of the "Foundling Father", is always digging away at a gaping physical abyss. Digging into absence as both an act of resistance as well as an act of labour and exhaustion.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suzan-Lori Parks is clearly an exceptional playwright, to the point where I know that I did fully grasp all the complexity within it. There are so many layers and references, and it was so intriguing. Definitely going to have to read it again.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not my favorite to read, but when analyzing it, I must admit that it’s brilliant. In my opinion, it very deftly shows how white people have, again and again, effectively wiped out black history.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The repetition of certain lines throughout the text had a very interesting effect, but that didn't make it easy to understand. It seemed like complete gibberish to me.

[Alex Gruenenfelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply poetic play about race, class, history, and what it is to be remembered. It takes some work to be interpreted, but it is fully worthwhile.

[Moy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mayhaps a 3.5

First time reading a play in ages and enjoyed the concept though it wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea

[Jared · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I would’ve enjoyed this play more if I’d watched a performance of it instead of reading it, but I’m not sure that would be the case. The America Play just couldn’t get my interest.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Mark Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen.

[JR Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pinteresque and Beckettian all at the same time. Rich in symbolism and full of poetry. Parks blends so many different poetic and theatrical elements amazingly in this beautiful and bittersweet play.

[Keshaun]

Hm, that’s a thinker.

[Kayden Merritt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, like a little diorama box, nice for the container that it lives in

[kit (romanticelegies) · Rating 1 out of 5]

read for uni, i think i would’ve liked it more watching it than reading it but there’s no videos anywhere i can find of it

[Nanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

The prequel to "TopDog/Underdog" was disappointing in comparison.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great and worthwhile read. Enjoyed this immensely- hoping to read more by Parks in the near future.

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this for my American Drama class. What a weird play...

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

SLP Rocks! I also love the essay from "elements of style" on playwriting in the beginning of this edition.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this play left me feeling confused. Even after hearing my English professor lecture on it, I still don't have a very good understanding of what the author is trying to show.

[Feargal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope.