Uncle Tom’s Cabin:
An Unfortunate Melodrama
Adapted by Lane Savadove & Glenn Odom
from Harriet Beecher Stowe
June 2013
The Plays & Players Theatre
A provocative staging of Stowe’s 1852 sensation.
In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel became an overnight sensation. It sold millions of copies, became the best-selling book in America, and laid the groundwork for the Civil War and the end of slavery. However, later theatrical versions (called Tom Shows) distorted the novel's message and fostered racial stereotypes. EgoPo's provocative remounting, with a race-reversed cast, revisits the novel, inviting a candid discussion of race in America.
Creative Team
Lane Savadove … Director
Paule Turner … Choreographer
Joseph Napolitano … Scenic Designer
Natalia de la Torre … Costume Designer
Matt Sharp … Lighting Designer
Zachary Wiseley … Sound Designer
Kaitlin Kemp … Props Designer
Melanie Julian … Dialect Coach
Matthew Ploch … Stage Manager
Heather Felker … Assistant Set Designer
Katie Verde … Costuming Intern
Brooklyn Rose … Assistant Stage Manager
Cast
Nia Ali … Eva
Tiffany Bacon … Mrs. Shelby/Marie
Robert Carlton III … Andy/Sambo
Caroline Crocker … Chloe/Mammy
Katie Croyle … Dinah/Cassy
Langston Darby … Haley/Legree
Maria Konstantinidis … Eliza
Anthony Martinez-Briggs … George Harris
Rachel O’Hanlon-Rodriguez … Harry/Topsy
Ryan Sanders … Young Master Shelby
Lia Simon … Ophelia
Ed Swidey … Tom
Paule “Duchess” Turner … Mr. Shelby/Loker
Matthew Weil … Andy/Quimbo
Steve Wright … Augustine
About Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist.
She came from the Beecher family and wrote a popular novel called Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), which depicts the harsh conditions experienced by enslaved African Americans. The book reached an audience of millions as a novel and play and was influential in the United States and in Great Britain, energizing anti-slavery forces in the American North, while provoking widespread anger in the South.
Stowe wrote over 30 books, including novels, three travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters. She was influential both for her writings and for her public stances and debates on social issues of the day.