| I remember finding the conclusion problematic--the integration of Coalhouse and Sarah's son into the white family. Granted, it was a utopian moment and we need those in our theatre (cf. Jill Dolan's Utopias in Performance), but it range false to me, since it implied that this young boy would be on an equal footing with the Little Boy. I think it would have been more likely that he would be consigned to the kitchen, handed over to another set of "Negroes" (to use the language of the time and the language of the narration) during that time period. That seemed to me to sentimentalize the ongoing racial problems of the US, which were still apparent to the audience in 1988, even if not as focused as they are today. I realize that the future of the adopted son was not spelled out in Doctorow's novel (which I haven't read in 20 years, so if it was spelled out, please correct me), but McNally and Galati, the latter having grown up in the suburbs of Chicago, should have known that this moment, while heart-warming and satisfying for some, was probably not realistic, even in a musical pla, where there is often some "lightening" of the actual conditions for entertainment and artistic effect. |
