‘Do Lord Remember Me,’ directed by Roberta Uno, focuses on the memories of former slaves in Virginia. John De Jongh’s play was the perfect vehicle to bring together theater and music, with the collaboration of UMASS music professor Horace Boyer, and the participation of cast members from the community in Amherst. The memories of ex-slaves recorded in interviews in the 1930’s constitute the raw material of this theater piece. The lines and dialogue of this play are the words of black men and women in their eighties and nineties, who remember their experience of the ‘peculiar institution’ as it happened to them nearly a lifetime ago. Characters in the play adopt different personalities, telling the stories/histories of other slaves’ experiences, and expressing the oppressions of serving in the military, inter-racial relationships, and the black/white social power dynamic. Among these horrors, faith sustained them and infused their desire for survival, always holding the promise that in the future they will be free: ‘On my way to heaven, Lord remember me … do Lord, do Lord, do Lord remember me.’
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Photo/Foto: Edward Cohen
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Video:
HIDVL Video
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Title:
Do Lord Remember Me
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Holdings:
photo gallery, video (HIDVL)
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Duration:
01:29:44
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Language:
English, Spanish
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Date:
1983
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Location:
Southwest Hampden Theater in Amherst, Massachusetts
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Type-Format:
play
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Cast:
First Actress: Gloria Bankston,
Slave, Nat Turner, Solider: Leroy Blair,
First Actor: Mangold Washington Jr,
Second Actor: Richard Ammons,
Second Actress: Felicia Thomas
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Credits:
Director: Roberta Uno Thelwell,
Musical Director: Horace Clarence Boyer,
Set Design: Sarah D. Stauderman,
Assistant Set Designer: Alyson Hui,
Costume Design: Miriam Hinkson; Dana Woods,
Costumes and Properties: Ingrid Askew; Ynez Boyd,
Assistant to Costume Designer: Belissa Rivera,
Technical Director/Lighting: Marc Olivere,
Stage Manager: Stefan Rutherford; Monique Dees,
Assistant Stage Managers: Karen Blake; Bridget Chin,
Lighting Board Operator: Voncille Ross; Lee Hammond,
Make up: Rosemary Graham,
Make up assistants: Dale Gadsden; Celina Leiti Cavalcanti,
Poster design: Ron Taylor,
Crew: Karen Banks; Heidi Jones; Philipa Pinkard; Cheryll Rothery; David Berglund; Mark C. Riley; Christine Blackett; Paul Curtis; Donna-Marie Samules; Brian Shea; Michael Shinnick; Daniel Vogler; William Webber; Shelly Johnson; Keith Johnson; Karen Klein; Jeannie Collins; Voncille Ross; Carlos James; Maura O’Leary,
Camera: Chris Hurley; Erik Peirce; Phil Schinman,
Audio: Christopher Heespelink,
Videotape engineer: Philip Schinman,
Produced and directed by: Mark Chesak
Do Lord Remember Me Program (
Published in
New WORLD Theater: Works