Dutchman (play)

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Dutchman is a play written by African-American playwright Amiri Baraka. It played at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village, New York in March 1964 and won an Obie Award. [1] Made into a movie in 1966, Dutchman was the last play produced by Baraka under his birthname, LeRoi Jones. At the time, Jones/Baraka was in the process of divorcing his white Jewish wife and embracing black nationalism.

The play was recently revived in 2007 at the Cherry Lane Theatre starring Dule Hill.

[edit] Plot

The action focuses almost exclusively on Lula, a flirtatious white woman, and Clay, a young black man who ride the subway in New York City. Lula boards the train munching an apple, an allusion to the Biblical Eve. After Lula bends over in front of Clay in an obvious sexual come-on, the two characters engage in a flirtatious conversation throughout the long train ride.

Lula then begins to insult Clay, implying that somehow he is not "really" black because he is college educated, wears a three button suit and because his "grandfather was a slave". Clay, who initially does not respond to the provocation, rises up in extreme anger, menacing the other riders, telling Lula that she knew nothing about him, referring to her and other white people as "ofays" and telling her that the neuroses of black men can be cured with her murder. Lula then stabs Clay as he attempts to disembark from the train -- in full view of the other riders who do nothing to stop the attack. She then instructs everyone else to help her throw his body out of the train and get off the subway at the next stop. The play ends on a chilling note; Lula approaches another well-dressed black man in the exact same way that she approached Clay.

The play operates on a mostly symbolic level. Lula represents white America and the tendency of white Americans to stereotype Blacks. The apples that she munches throughout represent the (often empty) promises that America holds out to African Americans. Clay represents Black America, or more accurately, the assimilationist element of that community.