Category: 8. Drama and pageants

Strike at the Wind! 2007 Season:
Opening Night, July 7, 2007

A review, by
Glenn Ellen Starr Stilling

The 31st season of Strike at the Wind! opened to an enthusiastic full house. The performance was accompanied by the croaking of bullfrogs and quacking of ducks or geese, as would have been the actual historical events portrayed in the drama. The audience could also see bursts of fireworks from nearby Lumbee Homecoming celebrations and hear the whistle of trains rolling through Pembroke.

This year's performance succeeded on several levels. The play's balance of dialogue, action, romance, music, dance, and humor moved it along well, creating an enjoyable audience experience. The lead performers each brought their own distinctive styles to their roles.

Barry Locklear's physical energy as Henry Berry Lowrie allowed him to sustain a good deal of time front and center. Moreover, he shifted gracefully from humor and playfulness (with Rhoda and with the members of Henry Berry's gang) to romance, joy, anger, despair, exhaustion, and —most importantly—hope.

Jamee Atkins Hunt, as Rhoda Strong Lowrie, is also very effective at capturing the range of emotions evoked by the eight years of events the play dramatizes. Her performance was especially enjoyable when she was bantering playfully with Henry Berry; wishing for a more normal life with her husband and, later, for her and her child with Henry Berry; and doubting the wisdom of the violence Lowrie and his gang were using to achieve their goals. Her brief song to her newborn child was lovely, as was her simple wedding gown and halo of green leaves during the wedding scene. I found myself becoming very fond of Locklear and Hunt, and the positive energy of their interaction, over the course of the play.

Robert Bryant as Shoemaker John was a real standout, with his humorous dialogue, physicality, and smart exchanges with the other characters. He carries the theme of racial tensions well, whether through banter or through serious statements. Having him visit Henry Berry in jail, wearing a disguise and hiding an instrument of escape, was a good twist on the historical event.

Carolyn Oxendine was strong and effective as Henry Berry's mother, Mama Cumbo.

Willie French Lowery's music was central to the play. It served well to establish theme and mood at key points, and to demonstrate the importance of spirituality and of community among Robeson County Indians. My favorite musical numbers were "In the Pines"; the community-wide musical number in the scene where Sheriff King announced his bid for re-election; the music and dance during Henry Berry and Rhoda's wedding; and "Jerusalem," which was gentle and beautifully sung. Most important, to me, was that the music helped carry the overarching theme of the play—hope.

At times, the play's dialogue seemed to resonate with today's events, such as the discussion of liberals versus conservatives, and Henry Berry's remark, "We fought a war for four years for no good."

The hallmarks of Strike at the Wind! are its historically accurate portrayal of the major events of the Lowrie Gang era and the political and racial tensions surrounding them, and its honest presentation of the conflicted feelings Lowrie, his family, and the community had about the violent methods being used by the gang. The play does not minimize or omit the divergent views of Indians outside Lowrie's family, or of White Robesonians whose lives and property were affected by the gang. The play foregrounds Henry Berry Lowrie's drive to provide a better future for Robeson County Indians. Revenge for the deaths of Lowrie's family members was certainly a factor, and the play does not slight it. The central motivation and message, however, is one of hope. It is well expressed by Henry Berry Lowrie in several bits of dialogue, including this exchange with a wedding guest, from the wedding scene:

MR. CHAVIS: It’s a bad name you’re giving all the poor!

(Pandemonium. HENRY quiets them.)

HENRY: I guess--I guess Rhoda and me were wrong, thinking we were just among friends today. But since it is our wedding, I’m going to tell you the last free dream I had.

(Relieved laughter.)

Last night I dreamed you were right, Mr. Chavis --dreamed I gave us such a bad name that people didn’t tell us no anymore! Such a bad name that people let us vote and be honest! Such a bad name that your children and mine went to school! And not only went to school, but learned how bad we were to make them good!