Wanda's Picks Radio Special

Today we have an opportunity to speak to playwright, Julie Hébert, and cast members: Susi Damilano and Carl Lumbly. TREE, directed by Jon Tracy, has its Regional Premiere at the San Francisco Playhouse, January 20th to March 7th, opens January 24, 2015.

Winner of the Pen Award for Drama and Backstage Garland Award, Tree is the story of three generations divided by race, culture, and time. The play has contemporary resonance, posing questions about family and what it means to “be related.” “I set out to write a play about race and ended up writing a play about family,” said playwright Julie Hébert about Tree. “About the inescapability of family, of being known over time, of recognizing yourself in others, of continuing relationships after betrayal and suffering. We keep each other honest. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes painful – and so it is with this play.”

The story explored in Tree unfolds when a southern white woman shows up at the home of an African-American man in Chicago and claims to be his half-sister, impelling them to confront a shared past. In their search for the truth, they must navigate the fragmented memories of the man’s aged mother to discover where their roots intersect.