Blues for Mister Charlie (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: James Baldwin
- First Published: 1964
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The 1960’s
- Setting: The American South
- Principal Characters: Meridian Henry, Richard, Juanita, Lyle Britten, Jo, Parnell James
- Genres: Social realism, Drama, Problem play
- Subjects: African Americans, Civil rights, Discrimination, Justice, Values, 1960’s, Racism, Murder or homicide, South or Southerners, Trials
- Locales: South (U.S.)
The Play
Act 1 of Blues for Mister Charlie begins in darkness. The audience hears the sound of a gunshot. The lights are brought up slowly to reveal Lyle picking up Richard’s body and dropping it upstage out of sight of the audience. Lyle exclaims, “And may every nigger like this nigger end like this nigger—face down in the weeds.” In the next scene, at Meridian’s church, the minister coaches college students who will serve as protesters for black civil rights and for justice in the prosecution of Richard’s murderer. One student doubts whether the suspected...
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