Strange Fruit

Synopsis:

Abel Meeropol, an American-born Jew of Russian extraction, working under the pseudonym Lewis Allan, wrote the poem ‘Bitter Fruit’ and then adapted it into a song, ‘Strange Fruit’, which was released by Billie Holiday in 1939 and quickly became a kind of anthem for racial equality.

In 1940, he was hauled before a Congressional Committee to respond to charges that his song represented a stance that was both treasonous and unAmerican, inasmuch as it was highly critical of America’s track record on race.

14 years later, he found himself being questioned by Senator Joe McCarthy in a hearing of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, where he was accused of being a Communist sympathiser on account of the song’s call for racial equality.

In a fanciful third act, a 121-year-old Meeropol is hauled before the Tribunal on Literature to respond to the supremely ironic charge that, as a White person, he had no right to write a’Black’ song.

During a sequence of tense courtroom battles, it becomes apparent that all three of his adversaries, regardless of their position on the political spectrum, are guided (misguided) by the same narrow, repressive mindset.

A powerful and compelling indictment of political correctness.

Character Breakdown:

The play is a 3-hander: 3 males.
ABEL MEEROPOL  37, 51, 121
JAMES BALDWIN    17 / EDWIN J. LSAMBA   30 – one actor.
POLICE OFFICER / MARTIN DIES   38 / JOE MCCARTHY   46 / COUNSEL – one actor.

Running-time:  70 minutes.

Production History:  Not yet produced.

Excerpt available for download for free.