Show-and-Tell Post: "Wine in the Wilderness"

Basic Information

Wine in the Wilderness, written by Alice Childress in 1969, was first performed in Boston, Massachusetts. Part of the series “On Being Black,” this performance was televised on WGBH-TV (http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/article/Wine-in-the-Wilderness-expands-black-theater-1205671.php). I accessed this play through the North American Women’s Drama library database.

You can access it here.

Basic Plot

Wine in the Wilderness takes place in the Civil-Rights Era and revolves around Bill, a black artist, and his quest to complete his current project. Bill is working on a triptych that makes a statement about black womanhood. The first painting represents “black girlhood.” The second painting, “Wine in the Wilderness,” is Bill’s ideal African woman, beautiful and noble. The third, unfinished painting will represent what society has done to the black woman. Bill seeks a vulgar, unfeminine model who beyond hope. Bill’s friends introduce him to Tommy, a potential model who doesn’t know Bill’s intention for the painting and falls for the artist. As the night begins, Tommy seems like Bill’s negative stereotype of black women. However, when Tommy hears Bill describe “Wine in the Wilderness” to an art dealer, she believes that he is talking about her. She then allows her natural beauty to shine, and Bill begins to return her feeling. The next morning, Bill’s friend reveals the artist’s original intention for her. Tommy then criticizes Bill and his friends’ privileged attitude toward the masses. Tommy shows her new grace and asserts that she is “Wine in the Wilderness.” Bill realizes that Tommy is the true ideal of black womanhood and begins a new triptych, this time with Tommy as “Wine in the Wilderness.”

Dramaturgical Choice #1

Childress’s first significant dramaturgical choice is to devote a considerable amount of stage time to the discussion of African-American history. Bill educates Tommy about various activists who fought slavery and discrimination. This information impresses upon Tommy and the audience the history that weighs upon the world of the play. This play, which begins with an offstage riot, takes place during the Civil-Rights Era. This society shapes the characters’ perspectives. For example, Cynthia says, “For a time I thought I was about to move into another world, the so-called ‘integrated’ world, a place where knowledge and know-how could set you free and open all the doors, but that's a lie. I turned away from that idea. The first thing I did was give up dating white fellas.” This discussion of history shows the creation of the society that influenced the characters’ worldview.

This emphasis on black history also reinforces Tommy’s statement toward the end of the play about black solidarity. Tommy says, “If you feelin' so brotherly why don't you say ‘my’ sister? Ain't no we-ness in your talk. ‘The’ Afro-American, ‘the’ black man, there's no we-ness in you. Who you think you are?” During Tommy’s harsh speech, she criticizes the characters’ places relative to the black community and their greater struggle in the Civil-Rights Era. Since the context of the Civil-Rights Era shapes the characters and situations, it is logical that Childress lays the historical foundation in the dialogue.

Dramaturgical Choice #2

Another significant dramaturgical choice is Tommy’s name, both her nickname (Tommy) and her given name (Tomorrow). “Tommy,” a name traditionally used for men, emphasizes Tommy’s lack of femininity. Bill declares Tommy the perfect model for a painting that should represent a woman who is, “ignorant, unfeminine, coarse, rude…” Both Bill and Cynthia tell Tommy that she needs to act more feminine. While the characters never openly observe this, there seems to be an implicit connection between Tommy’s nickname and her lack of femininity.

Tommy’s given name, Tomorrow, is also significant, foreshadowing her character growth. At the beginning, when Bill describes the unfinished third painting, he says, “there’s no hope for her.” However, over the course of the play, Tommy finds her natural grace, beauty, and confidence. She asserts that she is the true “Wine in the Wilderness” when she says, “Bill, I don't have to wait for anybody's by-your-leave to be a "Wine In The Wilderness" woman. I can be it if I wanta,... and I am. I am. I am.” When she sheds her role as the third painting, it implies that there is hope for Tommy’s “tomorrow.”