Review: “Jimmy and Lorraine” Explores Friendship and Activism in the Civil Rights Era

Bella Chirkis `27

News Editor

“Jimmy and Lorraine,” a play centering the friendship between James Baldwin (Jon-Michael Reese) and Lorraine Hansberry (Vanessa R. Butler), explores the lives of two Black American writers and activists who are central to the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s through early 1960s. The play took place at the Austin Arts Center Oct 10th-19th at Trinity College, and was staged by Hartbeat Ensemble. The play showed the struggles of homosexual black Americans in this time period; the characters’ friendship was a vital plot to the play as they both had similar goals and changes they wanted to make within society. 

The play had a simple set, created by Lynne Porter, including two tables on the right and left side of the stage topped with typewriters, and in the center, a coffee table with chairs. Before the play started, music from the 50s and 60s was lightly playing to set the tone for the audience members. There was another small table with glasses and drinks behind the chairs, but a lot of the set came from the projections of history that were displayed on a hanging set piece. The simplicity within the set allowed for little to no distractions while watching this play, and allowed the audience to specifically look at the characters and what they were doing and saying. The projections added a very engaging effect of historical speeches and pictures that directly related to the time period, allowing a sense to the audience that they are “really there.” 

Butler and Reese were the emotional heart of the show, connecting with one another as the two great writers in a real and authentic way, which made the show so great, because their friendship seemed relatable in a way. We see two friends in a living room sharing drinks and playing a game of “truth or dare” laughing and incorporating inside jokes that reflect on many real-world friendships. This created an “in” for the audience to see the friendship and casual lives of two lofty writers.  The two actors showed that Baldwin and Hansberry really cared about one another, and their common values, as they both had the same motives, which were to be strong voices for equality. Both actors had passionate monologues where they explained their values to the audience and they both did a great job of portraying their agony. Both actors made eye contact with members of the audience on their monologues, evoking emotion through their words and actions. They played with levels of their voices, bringing louder volume to imply their areas of passion or agony. There were some dialogues in the show where they would both talk at the same time, on a tangent about what they want in the world and what they want to change, and I wish that these had been spoken individually, because the audience couldn’t understand full cohesive sentences. This added to a sense of anxiety that the director was trying to portray through the characters, but they could have been important lines that the audience missed. 

“Jimmy and Lorraine” had a lasting impact on myself and other members of the audience. This was Simmon’s 5th iteration of “Jimmy and Lorraine.” His goal for this iteration was to “move past boundaries.” The directing of the play made it easy to follow and more personal. I felt like I was in the same room as the actors, due to the intimate set and small cast. The actors’ passion sold the play for me, which made it both emotional and memorable.