Don F. Fruechte Theatre For The Performing Arts

Clybourne Park asks us what is racism? Is it really about black and white? What have we learned in 50 years? Clybourne Park challenges to come up with a terminology to discuss the changing societal demographics and how those changes impact members of the majority as well as those in the minority. What does it mean to be marginalized? Does one have to be in the minority to feel marginalized.
At the Don F. Fruechte Theatre for the Performing Arts in Claremont, CA, acting company Ophelia’s Jump presents us with a 3 week run of Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park. The performance is set in two acts staged 50 years apart. The first takes place in the late 50’s and consists of an ostracised white family who has chosen to deeply undersell their comfortable home in a white affluent neighborhood to a colored family. Audience members are faced with the stereotypical fears about black people coming in with crime, reduced property values, and the eventual white flight. The second act fast forwards to a chronological juxtoposition 50 years later. This time the tables are turned with a white family trying to change their newly purchased home to the dismay of the established African American neighborhood which Clybourne Park had evolved into. Does change dilute a neighborhood’s identity? What is historical significance? Does historical value outweigh financial value? Finally, where do we draw a line as when something becomes racist? Is this a question of skin color? Population size? Particular demogrphics? Do white people feel the effects of racism?
Clybourne Park demands an open mind. Explicit language may be inappropriate for younger audience members. Be prepared to have your notions of society questioned and your sense of humor tickled. Clybourne Park continues its run through August 18 with Friday and Saturday shows at 8pm and Sunday shows at 4pm. Tickets are available for $ 18 for Seniors and Students with Id and $ 25 for everyone else thru
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