.
It begins shortly after the funeral
of Robbie, a young gay
dancer who drowned in a boating accident. In attendance were his roommate
s: choreographer Anna and ad man
Larry. Soon joining them in Robbie's lower-Manhattan
loft are screenwriter
Burton (Anna's longtime lover), and Pale (Robbie's coke
-snorting, hyperactive restaurant
manager brother). In the face of their shared tragedy
, the quartet attempts to make sense of their lives and reconsider their own identities and relationships.
Commissioned by the Circle Repertory Company
, the off-Broadway
production, directed by Marshall W. Mason
, opened on February 19, 1987 at Theatre 890.
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed — I, too, am America.
The night is beautiful,So are the faces of my people.
I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
The stars went out and so did the moon.The singer stopped playing and went to bedWhile the Weary Blues echoed through his head.He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.
Way Down South in Dixie(Break the heart of me)They hung my black young loverTo a cross roads tree.
Love is a naked shadowOn a gnarled and naked tree.
While over Alabama earthThese words are gently spoken:Serve — and hate will die unborn.Love — and chains are broken.
Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.