Performing Arts

by Angela Carroll

This article was first published in DC Theatre Scene. 

Count Down, one of many extraordinary plays included in this year’s Women’s Voices Theater Festival,  is an emotional drama about teenage girls living in a group home in Chester, New Jersey. Playwright Dominique Cieri based it on her experiences teaching in a similar home. 

Carmela (Brittany Nicole Timmons), an enthusiastic veteran art teacher assigned to work with girls at the home, hopes to help them develop a play about their lives. The girls are reluctant to participate in the class, and skeptical about Carmela’s intentions. Most of the girls came from troubled homes.  Esi (Natalie Dent), is haunted by her mothers’ drug addiction and battle with terminal cancer. Tizzy (Nell Quinn-Gibney) has debilitating shaking spells triggered by memories of being force fed bleach when she was a young child. Amber (Kylie Miller) lives in constant fear of the day her abusive father will be released from prison.

Carmelas’ initial attempts to work with the girls end disastrously. While trying to break up a fight between Blanca (Malissa Cruz Romero) and Neema (Zipporah Brown) Carmela gets punched in the face. In another scene Esi throws a dodge ball at Carmela’s head. Rashida (IO Browne) wants to sing, but she is burdened by a crippling insecurity that makes her hesitant to do so in front of others.  Romero’s Blanca can recall every baseball statistic about her crush Derek Jeter and instigates fist fights to distance herself from the group. Miriam (Rose Hahn) is extremely intelligent; she resents having Tourette’s Syndrome, and prefers reading over participating in group activities.

Carmela toggles between her passion to teach and mounting frustration that her plans are not coming to fruition. Carmela encourages the girls to write their fears and dreams down in a personal journal. 

The lead social worker, Hobbs (George Oliver Buntin) confronts Carmela with concerns that the writing activity may be harmful to the girls’ ability to heal from the traumas they endured. Carmela ignores this warning and pushes the girls to explore their emotions through the arts. As Carmela persists, the girls gradually warm to her and find solace in sharing their stories with one another.

Count Down, is a truly moving drama that showcases strong acting from a young ensemble which allows us to empathize with their characters’ struggles to overcome personal challenges.

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Count Down by Dominique Cieri. Directed by Bari Hochwald. Cast: Zipporah Brown, IO Browne, George Oliver Buntin, Malissa Cruz Romero, Natalie Dent, Rose Hahn, Kylie Miller, Nell Quinn-Gibney, Brittany Nicole Timmons. Stage Managers, Molly Prunty/Aris Hines. Lighting Design, Lana Riggins. Sound Design, Max Bent. Master Carpenter, Peter Johnson. Scenic Painter, Haley Horton. Costume Design, Hannah Viau. Graphic Design, Sherrionne Brown. Marketing/PR, Elena Kostakis. Fight Choreography, Brad Norris. Photography, Shealyn Jae. Masks Facilitator, Tara Cariaso. Produced by Strand Theater Company. 

By Angela Carroll

This article was first published in DC Theatre Scene. 

“Everyone in this play is dead,” Harriet Tubman (Tiffany Byrd) announces minutes into the first act. Frederick Douglass (Marquis D. Gibson), John Brown (Nicklas Aliff), Henry Kagi (Josh Adams), Emperor (Dylan J. Fleming), John Brown Jr. (Robert Bowen Smith), and Mahala Doyle (Moira Todd),  speak directly to the audience from seats among us, and introduce their story about the 1865 raid on Harpers Ferry. Idris Goodwin’s, The Raid, directed by Colin Hoyde, makes its regional debut at Theater Alliance. The masterful historical drama blends poetic prose, contemporary choreography and excerpts from legendary abolitionist debates.

The Raid portrays a series of discussions between John Brown and Frederick Douglass that occur over many years about how best to upend the institution of slavery in the United States. Brown was a radical Christian who believed it was his mission and calling to engage in armed rebellions against individual and institutional proponents of slavery. Brown was later hanged for murdering plantation owners.  Douglass was a scholar who escaped enslavement and believed in the possibilities of political reform. Though Brown is adamant that Douglass should take the position of leader in the armed rebellions against slavery, believing that a former slave was better suited to lead other slaves out of bondage than a white man, Douglass repeatedly declines. “Stories are the catalyst for empathy,” Douglass explains to an agitated Brown, “I am a former slave who thinks, breathes and lives. This is my resistance.”  By observing their passionate debates, intercut by flashbacks that help to contextualize their encounters, we learn about the victories and devastating losses that occurred during the battle to end slavery.

The intimate black box theater of the Anacostia Playhouse is an incredibly immersive space.  No matter where you are seated, you feel as though you are a part of the performance; you can see the sweat on the actors’ back and brow, feel the reverberation as fists thud against flesh during fight scenes.  Epic battles and tense interactions balance dialogue heavy scenes. The ensemble does not rely on many props or intricate costumes. The styling was contemporary rather than staunchly reflective of fashion from the period.

The precision of the fight choreography, designed by Cliff Williams III and the talent of the ensemble captures the urgency of abolitionists during key moments before the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War. The cast presented dynamic characterizations of famous and lesser known historical figures. 

Byrd’s Harriet Tubman is stoic, blunt and mysterious as she relays insights and forewarnings about the future. (Tubman suffered a traumatic head injury from her former slave owner that caused her to have blackouts, and the gift of premonition.)  Henry Kagi’s (Josh Adams) anxious paranoia provides a striking contrast with the tenacious confidence of his mentor John Brown.  Gibson portrays Douglass with a soft-spoken authority that balances the timid shyness of his protégé, Emperor (Dylan J. Fleming).  Though brief, the portrayals of John Brown Jr. (Robert Bowen Smith), and Mahala Doyle (Moira Todd), the widow of a plantation owner Brown’s militia killed, are also memorable. Beautiful light and scenic design by Megan Thrift and Jessica Cancino, and an atmospheric score by Kevin Alexander, punctuate major beats in the play and facilitate a deeper immersion into the story.

The Raid is well written, wonderfully acted and a genuinely enlightening historical drama.

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The Raid. Written by Idris Goodwin. Directed by Colin Hovde. Featuring: Josh Adams, Nicklas Aliff, Tiffany Byrd, Dylan J. Fleming, Marquis D. Gibson, Robert Bowen Smith, Moira Todd. Assistant Director, Dylan Morrison Myers. Scenic Designer, Jessica Cancino. Lighting Designer, Megan Thrift. Sound Design, Kevin Alexander. Fight Director, Cliff Williams III. Stage Manager, Simone Baskerville. Produced by Theater Alliance.

by Angela Carroll

This article was first published in DC Theatre Scene. 

Familiar, by Tony Award winning playwright Danai Gurira, is an intimate comedy-drama set in the home of a first-generation Zimbabwean family living in Minnesota. The family has gathered over the weekend to celebrate and prepare for the winter wedding of their eldest daughter, Tendi (Sharina Martin) to Chris, her white fiancé, (Drew Kopas).

Audiences engage with the story through the family’s hilarious and layered discourse.  Nyasha, the youngest daughter (Shannon Dorsey), is an artist who has dedicated herself to uphold the cultural traditions she assumes her parents have abandoned. Her resentment for her parents is particularly amusing; she is financially dependent on them, and benefits from the fortune they have accrued, but critiques them harshly for failing to teach her more about her heritage. Nyasha’s passionate desire to sustain and expand her connection to their heritage is fostered by her relationship with her aunt Margaret, (Twinkle Burke). Though Margaret is portrayed as worrisome – she avoids conversations about her career or children, and drinks excessively – she is an important resource for Nyasha, who learns about the customs and language of the Shona people from her.

Nyasha’s mother Marvelous, (Inga Ballard), and father Donald, (Kim Sullivan), are caught in their own marital debate. Their struggle is coded in their recurring interaction with a map of Zimbabwe; each time Donald hangs up the map, Marvelous removes it and buries it at the bottom of a closet. The map comes to represent an unspoken anxiety about their relationship to each other and their troubled memories of Zimbabwe.

The situation intensifies with the arrival of  Marvelous’ older sister Anne (Cheryl Lynn Bruce), the matriarch of the family. Anne flew from Zimbabwe to Minnesota to conduct a traditional pre-wedding ceremony called Roora, a ritual she believes will bless and fortify the bond between her niece Tendi and Chris. The troubled relationship between Marvelous and Anne is a major point of contention for the family; each woman stubbornly maintains their perception about the other as irrational and belligerently combative. In one particularly telling scene, Anne confronts Marvelous about her hesitations to participate in the Roora ceremony.  “We can do our customs and be Christian.” Anne states confidently. “Our ancestors are dead!” Marvelous screams back. “But they don’t want our customs to die out!” Anne rebuts. The family is flanked on all sides by secrets from the past that threaten to disrupt their lives. Anne’s character anchors the family to Zimbabwe, and functions as a blatant reminder about all the family lost when they became American.

Some of the funniest scenes occur when Anne tries to teach Chris and his brother Brad (Andy Truschinski) how to properly execute the Roora ceremony. Brad, an army vet and self-proclaimed “family fuck up” must serve as the Munyai, a messenger between the groom, Chris and Anne, the ceremonial conductor. The brothers are bewildered that they are required to pay a monetary tribute for Tendi’s hand in marriage. Chris’ love for Tendi, coupled with his desire to revere the traditions of his new family, prompt him to acquiesce enthusiastically to all of Anne’s requests while Brad is especially vocal about his discomfort and responds to each of Anne’s requests with random outbursts and satirical queries.

Gurira describes Familiar, as “an ode to the African immigrant”, and while the play does a marvelous job of humanizing representations of African-American families, it is also an outstanding work of classic Americana. Under the direction of Adam Immerwahr, a longtime collaborator with Gurira, Woolly Mammoth’s exceptional cast present distinctly memorable characters who each reflect the changing face of America. Gurira’s wit and humor offers powerful perspectives about culture, economics, race and privilege that are profoundly refreshing. Entertaining, full of unexpected plot twists and revelatory characters, Familiar is an outstanding entry in the Women’s Voices Theater Festival.

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Familiar by Danai Gurira. Directed by Adam Immerwahr. Cast: Shannon Dorsey as Nyasha, Inga Ballard as Marvelous, Kim Sullivan as Donald, Twinkle Burke as Margaret, Cheryl Lynn Bruce as Anne, Sharina Martin as Tendi, Drew Kopas as Chris, and Andy Truschiniski as Brad. Lighting Design, Colin K. Bills. Set Design, Paige Hathaway. Costume Design, Karen Perry and Robert Croghan. Sound Design, Justin Schmitz. Stage Manager, John Keith Hall. Produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company .

by Jason Williams

This article was first published in the Northwest Current.

In a town where long-standing institutions are increasingly contouring themselves to contemporary audiences, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returned to Washington to present new works that remain true to the company’s roots.

On Feb. 6, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosted an opening night gala and fundraiser for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. For the last 19 years, the dance company, founded in New York City, has traveled to Washington as part of its annual tour. These tours showcase the tremendous talent and skill of the dancers, and also inform and educate communities across the country.

The event opened with remarks from Chris Womack, the president of external affairs for the Southern company. Womack said that after their stint in D.C., the company would be heading to Alabama, where they will perform on the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge (the site of the infamous 1965 police attack on peaceful civil rights protesters). Later, Robert Battle, the artistic director of the Ailey Company, reminded the audience that it was performances like the one they were about to witness that inspired him to purse his dance dreams, and it was the generosity of donors that allowed him to attend Ailey programs in his local community.

Battle pointed out that at Ailey, dance performance is only half of the job, saying, “we step off the stage and into the communities we serve.” Battle highlighted that the D.C. area has produced a number of Ailey dancers and rattled off several homegrown members, each name drawing thunderous applause from the audience.

The performance was in three acts – two repertory works and a premiere. The newest work, “Members Don’t Get Weary” was choreographed by Jamar Roberts and set to music by Jazz legend John Coltrane.

The number opened with a deep blue background, shadowing 10 dancers set in two groups. Half of the dancers were clustered together in the foreground, while the remaining members stood in a straight line across the back of the stage. All were wearing wheat-colored wide brim sun hats.

There was an exchange between the two groups, beginning with elongated slow movement in the foreground and stillness in the rear. As all 10 dancers arrived at center stage facing the audience, a shift in formation revealed that one dancer was down. The other nine looked back while another member joined the fallen dancer on the floor. The one used his own back to try and prop up the other as the remaining members encircled them, paying tribute to the effort of the fallen.

Duets emerged from the pack, with a beautiful symmetry to the movements that built from methodical and firm, to flowing joyful patterns, to a frantic tempo that gave way to an exhausted release. In this context, “weary” was not burdensome as much as an acknowledgment of where physical limitation started and kinetic, spiritual, energy began.

After a brief intermission during which the majority of the lower bowl audience, in their black ties and ball gowns, resumed conversations and refreshed their drinks, the show resumed with “The Golden Section.” Created in 1983 by choreographer Twyla Tharp, the section featured 12 dancers. The costumes, by Santo Loquasto, fit nicely with the music by David Byrne (of “The Talking Heads”). The look and sound was disco-era.

The majority of the action occured at the wings of the stage as dancers jet in from the sides, often leaping onto the stage and into the arms of other dancers. The lighting was bright and took full advantage of the golden costumes and metallic skrim. The piece was light and fun, and served as a great break between the artful heaviness of the opening act and the historical heft of the evening’s third act.

“Revelations,” choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1960, is without question the company’s most recognized work. The piece broke down into three major sections – “Pilgrim of Sorrow,” “Take Me To The Water” and “Move, Members, Move” – but 10 separate dances threaded through the section in this tour de force. The piece carried the reverence of a national anthem, and individual dancers functioned like stanzas, pointing back to the difficult times of a people’s past, then looking forward to a hopeful future.

The lighting and music were integral to the sensation of time and space the piece conveyed. The lighting by Nicola Cernovitch started in shades of brown and copper, evoking native Africa, then hints of red suggested the new native land of southern American fields. The music featured traditional hymns and work songs. “Take Me To The Water” was lit in tranquil blues and hot white. “Move, Members, Move” started in a deep red that gave way to bright yellow.

While all 10 dancers were exceptional and unique, three stood out.  Linda Celeste Sims and Jamar Roberts’ performance of “Fix Me, Jesus” was breathtaking. Much of the dance has the two interlocked, moving as one. Their holds and lifts were executed so tactfully that the dancers appeared like chiseled granite.

Clifton Brown’s performance of “I Wanna Be Ready” was equally moving. Much of the piece has the dancer center stage on the floor, contracting and reaching out while looking up at a white light, which beams on him the entire dance. Brown’s presence, strength, poise and dexterity were mesmerizing.

The finale, “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham,” featured the full cast with the women dressed in antebellum-era yellow sundresses and matching hand fans, while their male counterparts were in matching yellow vests and dark pants. There was clapping, twirls and an overall feeling of jubilation and rebirth.

As the piece wound down there was a false ending where the company bows, followed by an encore. It was strengthening to end on a joyous note, even within the serious tone this particular performance was raising funds to train, teach and develop the next generation of Ailey dancers – some of whom may have been in the audience.

The Ailey company’s present, history and future are a strong reason to see this group perform year after year.

by Angela Carroll

This article was first published in DC Theatre Scene.

In the early 19^th century, Ira Aldridge, an African American actor and playwright, was performing on European stages. A fraction of Aldridge’s miraculous story is portrayed in director Shirley Basfield Dunlap’s wonderful adaptation of Lolita Chakrabarti’s play, Red Velvet at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore, MD. 

It is astounding to consider what Aldridge was able to accomplish thirty years before the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1833, Aldridge became the first non-white actor to play the leading role of Othello, the moor at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden in London.

We are introduced to Aldridge in 1867, backstage at a performance of King Lear in Lodz Poland; he is aged, hunch-backed, caned and in poor health. Christian R. Gibbs portrays the elderly Aldridge as a bitter, moody man whose movements are pained and burdened. “Macbeth weighs heavy on me”, he groans. Aldridge is agitated and jittery; he sits for short periods then frantically jumps up and paces around the small dressing room. His rants, often toward his assistant Bernard Warde (Dave Gamble) are intercut by violent coughing fits. Gibbs is unflinching in his portrayal of Aldridge, a man consumed and tortured by his memories.

Desperate for a real story, ambitious journalist Halina Wozniak, McLean Jesse, who speaks fluent Polish in the role, sneaks into Aldridge’s dressing room and attempts to interview him. It is obvious from their interactions that she is inexperienced and intimidated by the tenacious Aldridge. Their humorous banter eventually resolves when Aldridge reluctantly gives in to Wozniak’s incessant inquiries about his time as a performer with the Theatre Royal in London.

The lion’s share of the play unpacks Aldridge’s brief experience as a performer with the renowned London company.  Audiences are transported back to 1833 as the cast of Othello discusses the sudden illness of Edmund Kean. Kean, a white actor who played Othello in black face, collapsed on stage mid-performance. The unexpected event prompts the theatre manager, Pierre Laporte (Yury Lomakin) to replace Kean with Aldridge. Only one of the cast members, Henry Forrester (Seamus Miller) knows that Aldridge is African American. When he arrives, the cast is shocked.  This scene sets the stage for the subtle and overt aggressions Aldridge will face while working with the Theatre Royal. The scenes between Aldridge and Charles Kean, the son of Edmund Kean, are especially strained; Kean’s racist distaste for Aldridge is palpable. However, the cast soon recognizes Aldridge’s genius and passion for acting and warms to the idea of working with him. As the play unfolds, the play reveals many heart wrenching revelations that will torment Aldridge for the rest of his life.

Though the play is contained to two sets, both in the backstage of theaters, the beautiful set design and overall production of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company makes you feel like you are sitting in the seats of the original playhouses, observing the rehearsal and performances of timeless works. 

Some of Red Velvet’s most memorable moments are in the ensemble’s performance of scenes from Othello.  The theatre is dimmed; the only light that remains is the warm flickering glow of small lanterns placed at the front of the stage. The actors perform as they would have on an English stage over one hundred years ago, expertly trained in the recitation of Shakespearean verse and anchored by thick red velvet curtains.

Red Velvet is haunting because it is based on some of the real traumas and victories Aldridge experienced. Gibbs’ performance as Aldridge is intoxicating and heartbreaking. The true success and power of the performance lies in the portrayal of Aldridge as an ardent dreamer who defies all odds, to remain passionately consumed by his ambitions to perfect and evolve the craft of acting. Red Velvet is a stunning work about power, prejudice and the transformative power of art.

Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti. Directed by Shirley Basfield Dunlap. Production Manager, Kyle Rudgers. Production Stage Manager, Alexis E. Davis. Set Designer, Timothy J. Jones. Technical Director, Lighting Designer, Daniel O’Brien. Costume Designer, Kristina Lambdin. Cast: Christian R. Gibbs as Ira Aldridge, Seamus Miller as Casmir, a stagehand and  Henry Forrester, McLean Jesse as Halima Wozniak, a Polish Journalist, Betty Lovell, and Margaret Aldridge, his wife, Dave Gamble as Terence, Aldridge’s valet and dresser and Bernard Warde, Laura Rocklyn as Ellen Tree, actor, Ron Heneghan as Charles Kean, actor, son of actor Edmund Kean, Tracy Farrar as Connie, the theatre’s servant, Yury Lomakin as Pierre Laporte, theatre manager. Produced by Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

by Angela Carroll

This article was first published in DC Theatre Scene. 

“Just what kind of man would abandon his son?” This is the central question writer/performer W. Allen Taylor has been asking in his twenty-year running play In Search of My Father … Walkin’ Talkin’ Bill Hawkins now at Atlas Performing Arts Center.  

In Search of My Father is a reflective and meandering musical drama about Taylor’s journey to learn more about his father Bill Hawkins, the first black disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio. We learn about Hawkins through Taylor’s brief encounters with the people who knew him; friends, relatives, and intimates. Through their earnestly portrayed recollections, and Taylor’s wounded personal ruminations about his fathers’ absence, audiences explore mythologized and real narratives about Hawkins’ life.

Watching Taylor transform himself in Atlas’ intimate theater was a powerful experience. The actor stands alone on the stage in a simple shirt and slacks. Each time he addresses the audience we are introduced to a new character speaking from a distinct era within the 1950s into the mid-1970s. At times, Taylor is a small boy on a rocking horse, or a preteen who begs for his mother to tell him stories about his father. In other moments he is a young adult, an ambitious DJ for a college radio station, the aging matriarch of a Baptist church, or a cool jazzman.

Relying on very few props; a scarf and pearl earrings, a gray fedora, a cigarette and pool cue stick, Taylor personifies a host of memorable characters. An impressive dancer, in one scene he leaps from popular dances like the Hustle to the Jerk and in another he lovingly sings the ballad “Body and Soul”. Taylor’s skill as a performer is catching and helps to create the feeling that our journey through his memories is an adventure.

His father, we learn, broke through a longstanding color line. Until his hiring by Cleveland radio stations in 1948, media outlets and industries at large in Cleveland and across the nation fervently enforced segregationist and exclusionary hiring policies.

Taylor tells us that Hawkins’ decision to showcase emerging and established black musicians expanded their mainstream appeal, and radically shifted the landscape of broadcast radio. The wit and charm of Hawkins quick-talkin’ broadcasts sealed his fame. In Search of My Father honors Hawkins’ legacy and celebrates the music that catapulted his career. Taylor uses music to underscore the tensions and triumphs of the play, from Al Green to Aretha Franklin, Thelonious Monk to Billie Holiday, Big Mama Thornton and Mahalia Jackson, among others.

Taylor’s obsessive quest to learn about his father through the people who knew and loved him is illuminated by a series of intimate conversations. The dialogs he has with his mother are particularly resonant. Their talks evolve gradually from the curt banter of an elusive mother and a curious child to emotional admissions that propel the story forward. It is only after Taylor becomes an adult that his mother feels comfortable enough to tell him the truth, a revelation that is years too late to be of any use to her son. I was moved by Taylor’s quiet portrayal of his mother, always in the throes of a mundane task, the washing and drying of dishes, the mending of worn garments. His mother speaks from familiar domestic interiors, at the sink of her kitchen or sitting in the rocking chair of her living room. It is in those subtle moments, that Taylors’ performance becomes transcendent.

The play oscillates between Taylor’s exuberant desire to uncover more clues, and the crippling anger he harbors about having an absentee father. The anxieties Tayler feels but rarely expresses about his father are evidenced in his portrayal of himself as a stylized version of Hawkins’ unique broadcast persona. Both comical and cutting, the DJ directly confronts the resentments Taylor maintains about their nonexistent relationship. Taylor holds a vintage chrome mic in his hand, and leans in deeply over the booth towards the audience as he speaks, “You want to know why I cut radio loose,” he retorts to the unseen Hawkins, “because I didn’t want to be anything like you, Daddy-o!”

In Search of My Father offers a unique perspective on the power of reconciliation and forgiveness.

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In Search of My Father: Walkin’ Talkin’ Bill Hawkins Written and Performed by W. Allen Taylor. Original Direction: Ellen Sebastian Chang. Set Design: David White. Production Manager: Klyph Stanford. Asst. Production Manager: Kristina Jackson. Lighting Design: Walter Holden andElliot Lanes. Sound Design: W.A.T. & Dustin Toshiyuki. Master Electrician: Aaron Waxman . Stage Manager: Elliot Lanes. Assistant State Manager: Norbert Thompson. Reviewed by Angela N. Carroll.

This article was first published by TAGG and can be found on their site here.

The afterglow of the Supreme Court’s 2015 rule on marriage equality finally felt like something tangible had progressed into our lives and homes. The decision felt like a finally released sigh that marked an elevation of rights for LGBTQ people of the nation.

Although many collectively celebrated the long-awaited, landmark decision, the decades long campaign for the freedom to marry winded down to an end, a behind the scenes effort that takes center stage in Eddie Rosenstein’s exceptional documentary “The Freedom to Marry.”

The film follows Evan Wolfson, founder of the organization Freedom to Marry, his team, and those in the LGBTQ community the entire year leading up to the Supreme Court ruling. The film emphasizes that the fight for marriage equality’s increased visibility has been propelled by people like Wolfson, whose everyday work was dominated by finding new angles and approaches to outline the argument for marriage equality.

Interspersed between historical context of the fight for the rights for the LGBTQ community are countdown clips featuring Wolfson and his team. Wolfson has often been seen as the proprietor behind the movement to legalize same-sex marriage and started his fight for equal rights nearly thirty years ago.

After growing up in Pittsburgh (alongside director Rosenstein), Wolfson went to Harvard Law in 1983, where he wrote a thesis entitled “Same-sex Marriage and Morality: The Human Rights Vision of the Constitution” that outlined the argument for marriage equality for the community LGBTQ.

This was the thesis that led him to founding Freedom to Marry. Alongside National Campaign director Marc Solomon, the documentary shows the pair travelling to rallies across the entire nation before the Supreme Court decision came down. The film reveals the often-difficult terrain that comes with promoting equality for the LGBTQ community, including clips of homophobic protests and outright protests against the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Juxtaposing the opposing side of the argument are real stories of couples and families who want the same rights as anybody else. Part of promoting the legalization of marriage equality was introducing the universal notion of parental love; that LGBTQ families wanted the best for the children and their families, above all else, just like heterosexual couples. It was a touching collective truth that became exemplified through the stories of regular families and their stories.

By spotlighting ordinary people who were denied the legality of their families, the campaign for marriage equality became even more necessary and nuanced. April and Jane, a lesbian couple from Michigan, agreed to be the plaintiffs, a decision that required time and energy dedicated to a cause that was bigger than just their family.

“By denying marriage to same sex couples, we’re denying not only the protection to the adults, which is not only independently important,” said Mary Bonauto, a GLAAD lawyer who made one of the arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges. “We’re denying those protections and that security that would come from having married parents.”

Producer Jenni Olson highlighted the usage of these stories as one of the biggest successes of the documentary. “Regular people found a way to stand up,” said Olson. “It’s incredible that they had the courage and willingness to say that we want to make a difference, we want to make things better for our family, but also better for everyone. Now more than ever we need those stories.”

Marriage equality felt like the obvious, mandatory choice for some, and the ruling came with a feeling of “finally.” We forget that this decision, as overdue as it may have seemed, took decades to fight for. We forget the sacrifices and efforts made so that not only would no future generations have to fight for marriage equality, but that this decision does not end the fight for equality on every front for the LGBTQ community.

Olson talked about how almost everyday we wake up and feel overwhelmed and discouraged by the state of the world. It is films like these that remind you that there will always be regular people together and stepping up to make change. “I would like to think there’s another chapter coming,” Wolfson wistfully said at the end of film, signifying another generation will continue the fight for equality.