''Chain'' is an American

solo performance A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...

play by

Pearl Cleage Pearl Cleage ( ; born December 7, 1948) is an African-American playwright, essayist, novelist, poet and political activist.Spratling, Cassandra. "Pearl Cleage's Storied Life Cover Story." Detroit Free Press, Feb 21, 2010. ProQuest. Originally pu ...

. It tells the story of a 16-year-old Rosa, an African American teenager addicted to crack who has been chained to a radiator in her family home as an intervention attempt. ''Chain'' debuted in 1992 at the

Women's Project WP Theater (formerly known as Women's Project Theater) is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater based in New York City. It is the nation's oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing and promoting the work of Women+ theat ...

in New York, starring Karen Malina White.

Plot

"The action revolves around the character Rosa Jackson, a sixteen-year-old drug addict whose parents have chained her to the radiator in their Harlem apartment in an attempt to save her from herself. As the drama unfolds, Rosa reflects on how she became an addict and struggles to choose between a life with drugs or a life without them."

Productions

''Chain'' debuted at the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1992, starring Karen Malina White as Rosa. It was released on a double-bill with another one-act play by Cleage, ''Late Bus to Mecca''. The play has been staged in cities including

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

(2002),

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, Michigan (2015), and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas (2018).

Background

''Chain'' was commissioned and developed by Cleage with the

and the Southeast Playwrights Project of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. She also co-produced ''Chain'' with the Women's Project and the

New Federal Theatre The New Federal Theatre is a theatre company named after the African-American branch of the Federal Theatre Project, which was created in the United States during the Great Depression to provide resources for theatre and other artistic programs. Th ...

at Judith Anderson Theatre in New York City. She wrote ''Chain'' as a solo performance play, and similar to her other works, the subject matter was inspired by real-life events. She read an article in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' about a Puerto Rican mother and father who chained their teenage daughter to the radiator as a last resort to disrupt her drug addiction. Cleage's play centered the story on a Black family from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

that moves to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

. She described it as an exploration of the vulnerability of African American girls and their struggle with the cultural mandate to adopt their foremothers' values. The play employs unconventional devices such as the protagonist breaking the fourth wall and the use of projected text to mark the beginning of each of seven scenes.

Reception

Carl A. Rossi of ''The Theatre Mirror'' reviewed the play positively, "This is a tough, tough play, and a tragic one...But CHAIN is never depressing; it is wonderfully leavened by Rosa’s equally tough sense of humor...and she betrays a still-good, still-innocent quality that soon has you rooting for her." Dolores Whiskeyman praised Cleage's writing in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', "She writes without sentimentality, and her stroke of genius is to deliver the situation entirely from Rosa's point of view. It's a valuable perspective, underscoring the immensity of a social ill far too complex to be resolved with bumper-sticker slogans and 30-second TV spots."

References

{{Reflist

External links

Chain
on pearlcleage.net 1992 plays African-American plays Plays set in New York City Plays for one performer Works about addiction