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Father Comes Home from the Wars
By Joel Benjamin An ambitious conflating of the plight of slaves with Greek mythology. Suzan-Lori Parks has written an American epic, Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3. Using The Odyssey as a launching pad, she conflates Greek myth with the ever evolving mythology of the Civil War, this time completely from the point of view of the slaves whose suffering can never be adequately explored. Each part could stand alone, but viewed in a row, the story takes on an ambitiously grand aura, building to a conclusion that is satisfying on every level: as theater, as history and as human drama. Part 1: “A Measure of a Man” begins the saga, introducing three characters whose stories are the backbone of Father Comes Home: Hero (Sterling K. Brown) a slave who is debating whether to follow his master into battle in the Civil War. He loves another slave, the beautiful Penny (Jenny Jules). The Master, who only appears in the second part, has promised Hero his freedom at the end of the war, but had made similar promises before which led to Hero’s betrayal of his best friend, Homer (Jeremie Harris). After Homer had run away, Hero betrayed him and Homer’s foot was cut off as a punishment. A “Chorus of Less Than Desirable Slaves” (Russell G. Jones, Julian Rozzell, Jr., Tonye Patano & Jacob Ming-Trent) provided background and commentary. The Oldest Old Man (Peter Jay Fernandez) took on the role of oracle and seer whose utterings prove profoundly accurate. After measuring all the pros and cons—emotional, spiritual & political—Hero does go off to war. Part 2: “A Battle in the Wilderness” takes the audience to a campground just outside a battle where Hero is tending to his master, the Colonel (Ken Marks) who has taken prisoner a Union captain (Louis Cancelmi) who is imprisoned in a small hand-made cage. The Colonel and the Union soldier argue back and forth, with the Colonel taking coolly sadistic pleasure in playing cat and mouse with the worn-out soldier who turns out not to be who and what he seems. Hero gets to spend time with the Union soldier and learns more about the world beyond his ken and roots out the soldier’s innermost secrets. Hero uses his nascent relationship with his new comrade to find a way to deal with his guild over the way he treated Homer.
Part 3: “The Union of My Confederate Parts,” is the apotheosis of Father Comes Home, pulling all the threads together. Penny and Homer have shared a bed in Hero’s absence. Three runaway slaves are being helped by them as they await Hero’s return. First to appear, however, is Odyssey Dog (Jacob Ming-Trent), Hero’s pooch who, in brilliant conceit, hilariously and stingingly comments on what he has seen. Homer is considering going off with the runaways but doesn’t want to leave Penny. Hero, now called Ulysses, does finally appear to claim Penny. The three-way exchange among Ulysses, Penny and Homer leads to dramatic confrontations, revelations and an audacious finale. One of the last lines uttered, as the characters debate what “freedom” means, is audacious in its simplicity: “These are my hands now,” a simple, profound reaction to the Emancipation Proclamation. Ms. Parks has found the perfect vehicle for her sensibilities and talents. The writing is an intricate and effective combination of the poetic, historic argot and modern street language all judiciously combined to bring out the inner emotions of the characters while making their complex relationships crystal clear. She is helped by the nuanced direction of Jo Bonney and the evocative scenery and costumes of Neil Patel and Esosa. Steven Bargonetti, playing the guitar and singing period perfect songs, was a wondering minstrel whose presence provided an ephemeral bond and a cool perspective on the goings-on of the complicated plot. Father Comes Home from the Wars:
Parts 1, 2 & 3 – through December
7, 2014 
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