'Confederates' at The Rep aims to set us all free

Dominique Morisseau’s play “Confederates” premiered off-broadway in March, 2022, at the Signature Theatre to critical acclaim winning three Drama League awards including Outstanding Production of a Play. The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis production opened February 17th at the Loretto-Hilton Center and it is by far the best show I’ve seen at The Rep in a very long time.

Produced in association with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, “Confederates” presents in alternating scenes the stories of two Black women 160 years apart: a 19th century slave who becomes a spy for the Union Army, and a 21st century tenured college professor of political science who reacts to a racist and sexist prank. The set, brilliantly conceived and designed by Bay Area designer Nina Ball, is split in two – half of it the professor’s collegial office and the other half the slave quarters of Sara (Tiffany Oglesby). We first meet Sandra (Tatiana Williams), the professor, with a black and white photo displayed behind her of a slave woman suckling a white baby which is then photo-shopped with Sandra’s face on it and this is, as explained by Sandra, taped to her office door. We then meet our second protagonist, Sara, as she is tending to the wounds of her brother Abner (Xavier Scott Evans) who is in hiding as an escaped slave and Union soldier.

The action alternates between Sandra and Sara with keen precision under the direction of Elizabeth Carter. Both women struggle to find who they can trust in their own individual fights for freedom. Can the professor trust her colleague and the only other female person of color; or her white student assistant fan-girl; or perhaps her male black student vying for a better grade? Can slave Sara trust her fellow house slave; or the master’s daughter who professes love for her; or even her own brother who is hesitant to take Sara with him?

Both Tiffany Oglesby and Tatiana Williams are outstanding as our heroines navigating their individual freedom journeys. Tiffany is especially adept at dry humor which her character calls upon often. Xavier Scott Evans, Celeste M. Cooper, and Tracey Greenwood all play dual roles seamlessly and round out the play nicely. Costumes designed by Ricky German are particularly stealthy considering the quick change for the dual roled actors. Xavier Pierce does a lovely job lighting both sides of the stage for the modern-day college office and the 1860 slave quarters.

While I may not have a lot in common with Sandra or Sara, I felt connections to both of them. This play has a magical way of including everyone in the story no matter where you come from. The note from the playwright in the program talks about believing in freedom, everyone’s freedom. She says “in liberating yourself, you liberate others”. There is laughter in this play. There are unanswered questions in this play. I was pulled in from the beginning and rode the wave all the way through. I highly recommend this show at The Rep and I encourage you to come and see it. “Confederates” runs through March 5th at the Loretto-Hilton Center at The St. Louis Rep. For tickets and information go to www.repstl.org