HISTORY IN DIALOGUE WITH ITSELF

Dominique Morisseau’s time-splitting drama refuses easy parallels

On paper, Dominique Morisseau’s Confederates might read as high concept: two Black women in different eras confront institutionalized racism. It’s tempting to see the stories as straightforward parallels, especially since the same actors play supporting roles in both narratives, but this fiercely intelligent and nuanced work resists easy interpretation.

Monique Marshaun as “Sandra”

The third production in Redtwist Theatre’s stellar season of “Defiant Femmes,” Confederates opens on a set that initially appears to be the interior of a wooden shack. Kevin Rolf’s scenic design, however, quickly reveals itself to be as artful as the play it supports. Look closely and things are slightly off. A bookcase is bisected by its contents: upper shelves hold file folders and office accoutrements, while the lower half contains worn utensils and a sewing kit more than a century old. With a smooth shift, one wall slides away to reveal mounted academic degrees—the university office of Sandra, a tenured professor of political science. Another seamless movement lowers a battered cot with a threadbare blanket, and suddenly we are in the slave quarters of Sara, a field slave living just before the Emancipation Proclamation.

Makari Robinson-McNeese as “Abner”

Sara’s brother Abner is a runaway slave now working for the Union army. “Convinced” (does a slave truly have the option to say no?) by her mistress, Missy Sue, to spy on the master of the house, Sara quickly runs afoul of Luanne, a fellow slave deeply suspicious of Sara’s sudden elevation to house work and determined to uncover the truth.

Makari Robinson-McNeese as “Abner” and Shenise Brown as “Sara”

More than 150 years later, Sandra is the only tenured Black woman in her department. Strict and uncompromising in her standards, she is both admired and resented by students and colleagues alike. Her carefully maintained composure is shattered when a crudely racist alteration of an antebellum photograph is posted on her office door.

Madelyn Loehr as “Candice” and Monique Marshaun as “Sandra”

Confederates alternates between these two women’s stories with elegant fluidity. Costume designer Marquecia Jordan deserves special praise; some costume changes are so rapid they appear instantaneous. As Sandra searches for the person responsible for her humiliation while navigating entitled students and a tenure-track colleague who questions her loyalties to both race and gender, Sara fights for something far more basic: survival. Forced into a situation where truth could mean lynching, her goal becomes simply enduring—while deflecting Luanne’s suspicions and resisting the unwanted sexual attention of her mistress.

Shenise Brown as “Sara”

Director Aaron Reese Boseman, who tackled similarly complex material in last season’s The House That Will Not Stand, keeps the production agile and unsentimental. The play never collapses under the weight of its themes; pacing is brisk, transitions are clean, and the timing is precise. Scene changes are underscored by unexpectedly effective musical selections from Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Parris Chariz, and Daveed Diggs, among others. Boseman has also assembled a formidable cast.

Shenise Brown as “Sara” and Toccara Castleman as “LuAnne”

Monique Marshaun’s Sandra is a barely contained cauldron of fury, conveying her character’s rage and vulnerability so viscerally that watching her can be painful. Her confrontations with colleague Jade—played superbly by Toccara Castleman, who is also excellent as Luanne in the Civil War storyline—are among the play’s most gripping moments, not because either woman is wrong, but because both are right. The scenes never feel didactic, the highest compliment possible, because these arguments continue to play out across the country today.

Toccara Castleman as “Jade” and Monique Marshaun as “Sandra"

Makari Robinson-McNeese faces a tougher task, as both of their characters are somewhat one-note, but they acquit themselves admirably. As Malik, the modern-day student, they seize the rare moments of release with grace and emotional clarity.

The lone misstep comes from Madelyn Loehr as Missy Sue, whose performance veers into full camp. She is terrific as Candice, the student intern, striking a careful balance between satire and sincerity, but Missy Sue would benefit from greater restraint.

Madelyn Loehr as “Missy Sue” and Shenise Brown as “Sara”

And then there is Shenise Brown as Sara. Oof. One could write an essay on this performance alone. Brown’s ability to pivot from drama to comedy—sometimes from line to line—is remarkable, but it is her gift for layering plainspoken dialogue with meaning and subtext that elevates the entire production. Her silent reactions are as eloquent as any speech. In her scenes with Luanne, she transforms moments of near sexual violence into the most hypnotic passages of the play. Sara does not receive a major monologue until the final moments; thanks to Brown, it hardly feels necessary.

Madelyn Loehr as “Candice,” Monique Marshaun as “Sandra”
and Makari Robinson-McNeese as “Malik”

The two narratives in Confederates echo one another, but they are never mere variations on a theme. Each functions as commentary on the other, inviting comparison rather than providing conclusions. Some realizations sting with cruel irony, intensified by Sandra’s anguish. A time-spanning connection between the stories—too lovely to spoil—ties them together. The play refuses easy answers and resists judgment, instead asking audiences to acknowledge what was, what is, and what has or has not changed.

Shenise Brown as “Sara” and Monique Marshaun as “Sandra”

Near the end, as despair overtakes one character, Morisseau collapses time itself, allowing her two protagonists to meet. They circle each other, observing, assessing, until one gaze softens with understanding and the other fills with relief.

Morisseau’s final act is a masterful reclamation of a word that history has poisoned.

Did ever a play have a better title?

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photos by Aaron Reese Boseman

Confederates
Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago
Thurs-Sat- at 7:30; Sun at 3:30
understudy performances Feb.15 (3:30) & Feb. 26 (7:30)
100 minutes, no intermission
ends on March 8, 2026 EXTENDED to March 22, 2026
for tickets ($10–$60; PWYC Fridays), visit Redtwist Theatre

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago

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