The Agitators, currently on the boards from Upstream Theatre, was almost surely named to stir interest and opinion and possibly even prejudice from its potential audiences. It’s a story about the relationship between Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. Frederick Douglass (?1818-1895), to refresh the memory of anyone who might be unaware after a recent kerfuffle over his timeline, was an escaped slave, almost completely self-educated. He became an outstanding orator and author, and one of the primary voices of the abolitionist movement. Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) was an ardent abolitionist and a founding mother of women’s suffrage. She met Douglass when he and his family were guests at the her parents’ home just outside Rochester, New York. Her family was Quaker, although their affiliation with various branches and names changed back and forth over the years; she mostly identified herself as a Quaker, a group known for its social awareness.
Both were strong and vocal advocates for the abolition of slavery and Douglass was clear on his insistence on equality for, not just slaves but women as well as men and other then-less-common minority groups. Anthony was becoming increasingly involved in the movement to recognize women as individuals and not just as extensions of their husbands or fathers, and soon was speaking in public about it, often to the displeasure of many members of the public. She was also a vociferous abolitionist and felt the two liberation movements, as they would have been termed a hundred or so years later, were inseparable. She and Douglass became friends. The dialogue in the play is surely not word for word, although much of it is taken from the copious amount of writing and public speaking that was recorded contemporaneously. Nevertheless, this reflection of a deep and frequently pleasurable intellectual relationship is a fine thing to hear and see.
This is some magnificent acting. J. Samuel Davis is at his best in this role which runs from righteousness to tears. If he sounds declamatory much of the time, it was the orating style of the period, and works perfectly well here. Erin Kelley’s strong Anthony is not quite a steamroller, using her brain and her words to marshal her arguments rather than vitriol, and is all the more effective for it. The great argument between them was over the Fifteenth Amendment, giving former slaves the right to vote – at least male slaves. It did not give the right to vote to any women, no matter their color. Douglass was of the opinion that some progress was better than none, a surprising thing from the man who said, “Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.” He believed that it was necessary to agitate in order to stir the establishment. Anthony was livid that he did not stand up for gender equality – and yet she would not dissociate herself from a suffrage meeting in Atlanta that disinvited women of color and would not allow him to speak at the meeting.
All this talks about the compromise necessary in political accomplishment, and how painful that is. (Thanks, we’ve noticed that in recent years.) The arguments, yea, battles between them are reminiscent of what we still go through. And it’s heartening to realize that progress has been made, slow as it is.
Playwright Mat Smart’s script was probably bound to occasionally sound preachy, given the subject and sources. But it’s also inspiring to be reminded of what the country has gone through and what it’s all about. We have music composed for the show and played by Syrhea Conaway, and it adds considerably to the feeling, as does Patrick Huber’s fascinating, flexible, almost chameleon-like set. Director Lisa Tejero’s done a fine job on this one, a play worth seeing – and thinking about.
The Agitators
through October 13
Upstream Theatre
Kranzberg Arts Center
501 N. Grand
314-669-6382