Tony Weaver discusses three plays centered on Black father-son relationships and how artists navigate a world that commodifies their work without respecting it. He explores what these stories reveal about creativity, technology, and survival.
What is your favorite of these three, by the way? It's hard. So here's what I'll say. It's not Joe Turner's come and gone. No disrespect to Joe Turner's come and gone, but it's like neck and neck between Fences and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Because Fences chronicles this very tense relationship between black father and son. And Ma Rainey's Black Bottom chronicles how you reconcile your artistry with a world that doesn't respect you. They want your art, but they don't want you. And as technology is creeping up and advancing, there are ways that we can get your art without you. And yet you're not going to stop creating. So what do you do?
