Here Come the White People

The cultural zeitgeist in this country is one of total unease — it shows in the horror movies that churn out endlessly, in the waffling political landscape and in the comments section of stories about Trayvon Martin or Obamacare or other hot-button issues. Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer-winning play Clybourne Park stares that uneasiness right in the face as it follows up on A Raisin in the Sun, the classic play that detailed a black family’s plight as they moved into an all-white neighborhood. After Clybourne Park revisits another perspective from those happenings in 1959, it flashes forward to the present, where the neighborhood is beginning to gentrify. The return of white homebuyers now threatens to displace the black residents via a process of economic eviction. It’s a reminder of how very at odds this country is with itself, but luckily, it’s punctuated with some truly funny moments and sharp dialogue that rescue the viewer from total angst. The Dallas Theater Center’s production of Clybourne Park opens on Friday, October 4, and runs Tuesdays through Sundays until October 27 at the Wyly Theatre in the AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2403 Flora St. Tickets for the October 4 performance are pay-what-you-can, and they’re $15 to $75 for all other dates at tickets.attpac.org.

Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Oct. 9. Continues through Oct. 27, 2013