INTERVIEW: Angela Polite explores history of black mothers in new passion play
Angela Polite is hoping to touch hearts and open minds with her new solo play, Mary Speaks, which connects the story of Mary, mother of Jesus, with African-American mothers throughout history. The show, which is currently playing the Theater for the New City’s Community Theater on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, combines drama with spoken word, music, dance and artistry.
Polite wrote and performs in Mary Speaks, which is directed by Christopher Burris. Performances run through Feb. 26.
“Audiences can expect a very heart-filled story about a mother and about a son,” Polite said recently in a phone interview. “Mary Speaks takes the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and uses it to explore the relationship between black mothers and their sons throughout the history of black people in this country, particularly looking at the fight to raise them and to keep them alive in a society where their very lives tend to be at risk. And so I think that people should certainly come with an open heart and an open mind to hear this story, not just about black mothers, but it’s a universal story of a mother and her son. And I think that no matter your race or creed, anyone can understand that.”
Polite first moved to New York City a decade ago and joined the First African Methodist Episcopal Church: Bethel in Harlem. At the time, the pastor, the Rev. Henry A. Belin III, heard news that Polite was a performing artist, and the light bulbs went off. The church was hosting an event for the Advent season, which are the weeks that lead up to Christmas, and the pastor wanted an entertaining program for his congregation. Polite decided to offer a story that modernized the voice of Mary and made her a “regular mother who was raising a very special boy.”
That performance began the spark.
Years later, Polite played the mother of Emmett Till in a show, and the role changed the actress’s view of her artistic output. Till was tragically murdered in the 1950s after being accused of whistling at a white woman. He was 14 years old, and the resulting criminal trial, which ended in acquittals, helped gather momentum for the burgeoning civil rights movement.
“Then we began to have the rash of killing of young black men and boys,” she said. “I said to myself, these mourning mothers remind me so much of the story of Mary and Jesus, and so it was then that I started to liken them to Mary and begin to do the writing.”
From the beginning, Polite wanted to not only write the piece but perform in it as well. It was a time in the actress’s life when she wanted her roles to be more meaningful, and the format of Mary Speaks allows her to showcase her artistic versaitility.
“Because I was telling the story in the African-American tradition, it felt very natural to have songs be a part of them, and so the songs really just came to me as I was writing,” she said. “There’s a song that would be considered a work song. There’s a song that Mary sings to her son that’s a lullaby, and then we have a song that kind of reminds us of the era of the ‘60s. And along the way, there is dancing and spoken word and a little bit of rap, which is a part of the African-American tradition, and I think those things came about because this particular writing almost looks at, for the lack of a better word, sort of a timeline of black mothers and their sons in this country. And that for us really started during slavery and then throughout the years.”
Polite said she wouldn’t necessarily classify Mary Speaks as a religious play. The narrative is certainly influenced by her faith, but she focuses on the story’s heart and humanity. She’s most interested in exploring how people live and how they treat one another.
“I do think particularly for people who are believers, they will [be] close to it, particularly because they know the story of Mary,” she said. “They know the story of the crucifixion and the life that Mary led and that her son led, so I think it will speak particularly for those who are believers. But I think outside of that, it will certainly speak to others. I hope that it would speak to the heart of anyone.”
She added: “I think the pain of losing a child is universal, and that kind of hurt we can all feel. I think where we’ve gone to in our society is … we hide behind Facebook. We hide behind social media, and so I feel we don’t get close up on pain anymore. And it really allows us to be safe in our little bubble, but I think in order for us to at least address and begin to heal some of the ills of society, we have to look at other people’s pain. We have to look at other people’s hurt and try to understand it, and I hope that this is my contribution in trying to doing that.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Mary Speaks plays Theater for the New City’s Community Theater at 155 First Ave. in New York City through Feb. 26. Click here for more information and tickets.
