|
|
| GENRE |
Drama |
| LENGTH |
Full-length, 115-125 minutes
|
| CAST |
3 females, 3 males |
| SET |
Unit set of a public art gallery. Other locales (an office, an apartment, a house, a coffee shop) suggested minimally.
|
| NOTES |
Adult language |
 |
Soon after African-American businessman Sterling North becomes the new director of the Morris Foundation, he discovers that this world-famous art collection includes several significant African sculptures tucked away in storage. His proposal to add them to the public galleries is opposed by the foundation's long-time education director, who is loyal to the idiosyncratic wishes of the late Dr. Morris. Spurred on by a zealous local journalist, this clash quickly escalates to public accusations of racism and a bitter struggle for control of the collection. Permanent Collection is a searing examination of racial politics that ultimately asks how much space -- literally and figuratively -- the white world gives to African-Americans. What is the cost of failing to view the world through another's eyes?
(This is the second part of a trilogy. See also Bee-luther-hatchee and A House With No Walls.) |
|
|
|
 |
| "Gibbons' intellectually charged drama is a beautifully balanced dialectic that treats a complicated and emotional issue without cheap conclusions ... Sophisticated and deft, it is a provocative treatment of the unanswerable." |
| --F. Kathleen Foley, Los Angeles Times |
|
| |
Read more reviews |
|
|
|
 |
Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play (2004) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Tim Moyer, Frank X, and Tom McCarthy in Permanent Collection, InterAct Theatre Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2003). Photo: Seth Rozin. |
|
|
