INTERVIEW: Remembering the legacy of attorney William Kunstler
Kunstler explores the life and legacy of William Kunstler, the man who served as defense attorney for the Freedom Riders, Chicago Seven and members of the Black Panther Party, Attica Prison rioters, the American Indian Movement and Weather Underground. He lived and breathed history, both as an attorney and as the director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
In the play, which is currently running at 59E59 Theaters in Midtown Manhattan, Jeff McCarthy plays the title character, and Nambi E. Kelley portrays a law student tasked with introducing Kunstler at a college lecture. In the drama, which is written by Jeffrey Sweet and directed by Meagen Fay, Kelley’s character becomes pivotal as she questions the attorney about his trials and tribulations.
“How I approach the role was pretty much the way I would approach most projects that I work on as an actress,” Kelley said in a recent phone interview. “I sort of do a character profile of that person, who they are, what their name is, where they were born, how old they are, what they want, what’s in the way of getting what they want, and then I do specific work on the character in terms of how she feels about the other person in the scene, which in this case would be William Kunstler. And so it was building a history around understanding him and his trajectory and where he was and how I saw him at that particular moment in time when the play takes place, which is in 1995.”
Kelley researched Kunstler and his many cases over the years. She made a list of every topic discussed in the drama that she didn’t know too much about. The actress then researched the important historic events and figures on the Internet and also questioned older friends who lived through those experiences.
“What’s interesting is that since now we’re a week into the show, there have been a lot of people who have come to the show who are part of the justice system who will corner you after the show to tell you what they remember,” she said. “It’s really amazing to me.”
Of course, the themes of Kunstler, involving the struggle for civil rights and the eroding of civil liberties, are very much in play in 2017. The drama may appear to be a trip down memory lane, but it’s better understood as a trip into the newspapers of the past few weeks.
“In a weird way, the play is probably more potent, more relevant now than it was when we first did it,” Kelley said. “We had done it [originally] in January of 2015, and it just seems like some of the things that he says are so, it’s like wow. Night after night to hear the audiences react to it because it has so much resonance now in terms of our current political climate. … I think sometimes not only is it fascinating, but it’s also necessary. People are coming to the theater because they know the history of Kunstler in some way and because they know how relevant it is, how relevant his history was and his stance and a lot of the positions that people took in contrast to him or in opposition to him in terms of everything he stood for or tried to stand for but failed.”
Kelley added: “The majority of the play is essentially William Kunstler talking about his greatest hits, like when he was really successful and really standing for something, his position at Attica and Wounded Knee in 1973 and a couple of other things. You see, for me, watching the play — because I watch it every night as well as being in it — it’s sort of remarkable and wonderful and sad that you still need people to champion people in that way.”
Kelley said she becomes interested in a project when she’s able to see certain themes intersect with her own life. She wants to dig deeper on specific topics and learn about them in an artistic manner.
“It’s been really interesting working on this project in this particular political climate because it challenges me to really think more deeply in my regular life about who do we champion, how do we champion and where are your loyalties,” she said. “One of the things that my character argues against in the play is this notion of black rage as a defense, and it’s hilarious to me because in my regular life, I see it everywhere. And so I’m actually sort of in opposition personally to what my character sort of embraces, and it challenges me to really sort of look at it through a different prism. And so what happens is that I end up becoming richer, deeper, more well-rounded because I take the journey. I step inside this character and live that character’s life, and it informs me in all kinds of way in my life — artistically, professionally, personally. And it’s great. It’s the notion of constantly being in school, and I welcome that.”
Kelley’s résumé is extensive, with both acting and writing credits. She starred in the Goodman Theatre’s production of Two Trains Running and traveled to Singapore to perform in The Book of Living and Dying, a play she co-adapted. Other theater credits have included Seven Guitars, Gees Bend and The Glass Menagerie, among many, many others. Her adaptation of Native Son, the classic book by Richard Wright, has been met with acclaim.
“I had such a long history with the book [Native Son] since I was 8 years old,” she said. “I discovered it on my mother’s mantle, and I was reading it at that young age. And she caught me, and she snatched the book from me. And I didn’t finish it until in I was in high school, but for many, many, many years, I had a love affair with the lead character. Like I just loved him, and I felt for him. And I wanted him to win, and every time I re-read it, I felt the same way.”
When she was working on her adaptation of Native Son, the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman case was dominating the headlines. The acquittal of Zimmerman, which deeply troubled Kelley, became instrumental in how she re-envisioned her play. “Basically once that happened, I kind of threw out the whole script because I had an epiphany about empathy,” she said. “I suddenly became like, we have to be inside this character. We have to understand why he did what he did. We have to understand his humanity, and it changed my complete adaptation.”
Kelley’s role in Kunstler has changed her as well. She sees the character and the play as sparking a dialogue with the audience, and she hopes audience members walk away from 59E59 with a newfound interest in being on the right side of history.
“It challenges us to look at where we intersect with history and what do we do about it,” she said. “I hope that people walk out the door with [the idea] what am I doing to challenge the status quo to make this a better place, to make it easier for people who don’t have access, an agency, the way I might because I can afford to come to the theater and see a show and have a conversation about this.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Kunstler, starring Jeff McCarthy and Nambi E. Kelley, plays 59E59 Theaters through March 13. Click here for more information and tickets.
