Appropriate (play)
2014 play written by American Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
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Appropriate is a dramatic play written by American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. It was first performed in 2013 and premiered Off-Broadway the following year.
| Appropriate | |
|---|---|
Broadway promotional poster | |
| Original language | English |
| Written by | Branden Jacobs-Jenkins |
| Subject | Drama |
| Setting | The living room of a former plantation home in southeast Arkansas. Summer. |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 2013 |
| Place | Actors Theatre of Louisville |
A 2023 revival won a Tony and Drama Desk awards, in addition to awards for the lead actress.
Plot
In 2011, the unnamed patriarch of the Lafayette family has recently died. He leaves the family home in Southeastern Arkansas, an old plantation, to his three children: the overworked elder daughter Toni, the tactless middle brother Bo, and the estranged brother Franz. Toni has been made executor of the will, and Franz has not been seen or heard from in a decade.
The play opens as Franz and his eccentric fiancée River, from Portland, arrive at the house and enter through a window. Toni has been at the house preparing for an estate sale and auction of their father's old belongings with her troubled teenage son Rhys. Initially apprehensive of Franz's sudden arrival, she reluctantly allows the couple to stay at the house. The next day, Bo and his wife Rachel arrive with their children: 13 year-old daughter Cassidy and the much younger son Ainsley.
As the group reconnect, unexpected items begin to be unpacked from boxes, such as jars containing body parts, but they are disregarded as being antiques from a prior owner. However, Ainsley is mistakenly given a photo album containing graphic imagery of lynchings, evoking panic from Rachel, who forbids Cassidy from viewing them.
The adults deliberate why the album would be there, as the siblings did not believe their father to be racist. Rachel, however, finds this plausible: she is Jewish, and at several points in her relationship with the father, he disrespected or ignored her.
Toni dismisses her accusation of the father's antisemitism. In the ensuing argument, Toni sarcastically refers to Rachel as both a "Shylock" and a "kike", leading Rachel to storm out. Toni defends her actions as maintaining the sanctity of their father's name.
Meanwhile, Bo reminds the group that they also inherited $500,000 worth of debt that the auction needs to pay off. He suspects that it won't because the land and belongings have a low value. Angry that the reunion seems only to capitalize on their father's death, Toni drives away.
That night, Cassidy comes downstairs to see River meditating on the photo album. She shows the younger girl the images. Cassidy is unsure how to feel about the pictures, but is quick to say that they could be sold on the internet at a decent price to collectors, due to their apparent historical value. Toni returns to the house drunk, and instructs Cassidy to place the pictures in her car.
After Cassidy goes out, River attempts to connect with Toni and reveals that she is pregnant with Franz's child, to the latter's chagrin. During their discussion, Cassidy sneaks back in with the photos and hides. Rhys, on whom Cassidy has a crush, arrives to sleep on the downstairs couch. Cassidy and Rhys later view the pictures together after Toni and River leave, and Rhys keeps them as Cassidy returns to bed. Franz comes downstairs as Rhys attempts to masturbate, but the uncle only sees the lynching photos. He awkwardly begins to explain why they're important to view.
The next morning, the family prepares to welcome prospective buyers, but Toni has canceled the auction out of spite. Bo reveals that his research has revealed that the album could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, so that it doesn't matter if the auction is held after all.
However, nobody is able to locate the images. Franz shows up wet and covered in mud after swimming in a local lake. He reveals that in an attempt to redeem himself to the family, he "baptized" himself in a nearby lake, bringing the photos with him and ruining them. Bo's ire enables Cassidy to reveal that she had been the one who invited Franz to the house (via Facebook) and not estate lawyers as previously thought. Rachel's concern with this illicit friendship turns to fury as Toni reveals that Franz had been estranged due to a prior drug addiction that led to Rhys entering rehab, and Franz's statutory rape of a 12 year-old girl who became pregnant.
River flees in disgust and a full brawl begins among the family. Just as things quell, Ainsley, who had been playfully running around with various artifacts all weekend, arrives in the room wearing a Klan hood he found in the patriarch's bedroom, to everyone's horror.
The next morning, Rachel is hurriedly leaving with Bo, and Franz claims to be working on mending his relationship with River. Toni declares that she is effectively dead to her relatives, and their selfishness in their relationships with her and the estate are not worth salvaging. After everyone leaves, the house begins to fall apart over years of disrepair.
Characters
- Antoinette "Toni" Lafayette: the oldest sibling, late 40s/early 50s
- Rhys Thurston: Toni's son, late teens
- Beauregard "Bo" Lafayette: Toni's brother, late 40s/early 50s
- Rachael Kramer-Lafayette: Bo's wife, late 40s
- Cassidy "Cassie" Kramer-Lafayette: their daughter, early teens
- Ainsley Kramer-Lafayette: their son, a child
- Francois "Franz" Lafayette: brother of Toni and Bo, late 30s/early 40s
- River Rayner: Franz's fiancée, early 20s
Production history
Jenkins conceived the play through participation with the Vineyard Arts Project and the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab beginning in 2011. The play was first performed at Actors Theatre of Louisville in the Humana Festival of New American Plays.[1]
The play was next performed in Chicago at the Victory Gardens Theater and at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington D.C. in 2013.[2][3]
Appropriate began previews Off-Broadway on February 25, 2014, in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center, New York. It had its opening night on March 16, 2014, playing a limited run to April 6.[4] Johanna Day was given the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress for her performance.
The play premiered on the West Coast at Center Theatre Group in 2015.[5]
Appropriate opened at the Donmar Warehouse in London August 22, 2019, following previews from August 16. It played a limited run to October 5.[6][7]
On June 15, 2023, Second Stage Theater announced that it would produce Appropriate at the Hayes Theater on Broadway as part of its 2023–2024 season with Lila Neugebauer as the director.[8][9] Previews began on November 29, 2023, with the official opening on December 18, 2023. The show extended for a second time, concluding its run at the Hayes on March 3, 2024. Appropriate transferred to the Belasco Theatre on March 25, 2024, and ran through June 30, 2024. The extended cast includes everyone except Elle Fanning, who was replaced by Ella Beatty, daughter of Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, making her Broadway debut.[10][11]
Original casts
| Character | Louisville[4] | Off-Broadway[4] | Los Angeles[4] | London[7] | Broadway[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2019 | 2023 | |
| Antoinette 'Toni' Lafayette | Jordan Baker | Johanna Day | Melora Hardin | Monica Dolan | Sarah Paulson |
| Franz Lafayette | Reese Madigan | Patch Darragh | Robert Beitzel | Edward Hogg | Michael Esper |
| River Rayner | Natalie Kuhn | Sonya Harum | Zarah Mahler | Tafline Steen | Elle Fanning |
| Rhys Thurston | David Rosenblatt | Mike Faist | Will Tranfo | Charles Furness | Graham Campbell |
| Rachael Kramer-Lafayette | Amy Lynn-Stewart | Maddie Corman | Missy Yager | Jaimi Barbakoff | Natalie Gold |
| Ainsley Kramer-Lafayette | Gabe Weible | Alex Dreier | Liam Askew Alexander Rodriguez |
Orlando Roddy Oliver Savell |
Everett Sobers Lincoln Cohen |
| Bo Lafayette | Larry Bull | Michael Laurence | David Bishins | Steven Mackintosh | Corey Stoll |
| Cassidy Kramer-Lafayette | Lilli Stein | Izzy Hanson-Johnston | Grace Kaufman | Isabella Pappas | Alyssa Emily Marvin |