the ripple, the wave that carried me home
by Christina Anderson

Name: the ripple, the wave that carried me home
Brand: Christina Anderson
SKU: 9780573711169
Rating: 4.4 (5 reviews)

the ripple, the wave that carried me home Cover

the ripple, the wave that carried me home Book Cover — the ripple, the wave that carried me home Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

105 mins 1990s Role(s) for Black Actor(s) Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes

Synopsis

Tony-nominated playwright Christina Anderson penned this poignant, transporting and quietly subversive story of racial justice, political legacy and family forgiveness.

Janice’s childhood was steeped in her parents’ activism as they fought for the integration of public swimming pools in 1960s Kansas and taught scores of Black children to swim.

But Janice later steps away from her parents’ politics and starts her own life and family far away – until she’s pressed into speaking at a ceremony honoring her father.

the ripple, the wave that carried me home is a moving exploration of a family’s response to injustice and a daughter’s reckoning with her political inheritance.

Press Reviews

"Powerful… brings every period to life with vivid immediacy… Anderson’s enthralling language is peppered with brilliantly evocative turns of phrase."
— Bay Area News Group

"A touchingly humorous and passionate play that explores racial justice, family dynamics, and the importance of forgiveness. [Anderson] has captured the essence of decades of a family’s search for racial justice."
— Berkeleyside

"Anderson is a gifted playwright you want to pay attention to. She has the voice of a poet."
— Variety

"Passages that ripple towards poetry... Like water itself, there are depths in this story that defy cut-and-dried boundaries."
— Chicago Sun-Times

"Anderson’s brilliant writing shows evidence of a careful hand… expertly telling a story of political and familial turmoil… every vignette of a memory passed is immaculate. The work is deeply empathetic, nuanced and above all, honest."
— The Daily Californian

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
JANICE The daughter	female	—	The daughter
HELEN The mother	female	—	The mother
GAYLE The aunt	—	—	The aunt
EDWIN The father	male	—	The father
YOUNG CHIPPER AMBITIOUS BLACK WOMAN Performed by the actress who plays Gayle	female	—	Performed by the actress who plays Gayle
REPORTER, JUROR CITIZEN Interviews from the TV; can be performed by Edwin or others	—	—	Interviews from the TV; can be performed by Edwin or others
JANICE’S ANSWERING MACHINE Actor who plays Edwin or someone else	—	—	Actor who plays Edwin or someone else
HELEN & GAYLE’S ANSWERING MACHINE Actress who plays Gayle	—	—	Actress who plays Gayle