What: A Thousand Maids
Where: Two River Theater
21 Bridge Ave.
Red Bank, NJ
Who: Recommended for Ages 16 and Up
When: Through April 28, 2024
Tony Meneses' new play, A Thousand Maids, examines whether clothes or specifically, the stereotypical maid's uniform affects the way people think about the person beneath the uniform. Cordelia is tasked with designing maids' costumes for a new Broadway play, but she is resistant to designing the typical maid's uniform which we are all used to seeing. She is concerned that the uniform dehumanizes these women because people don't bother to look beyond the uniform and see the real person underneath.
The show also examines the way black women have so often been reduced to playing maids in movies. The ghosts of Butterfly McQueen and Lupe Ontiveros played by Deonna Bouye and Maria Elena Ramirez, respectively, give a running commentary on the subject throughout the play. The two actresses brilliantly skirt the line between comic relief and serious commentators. They are joined by Natalie Woolams-Torres in the role of Cordelia and Kate Siahaan-Rigg in the role of Vivian, a living maid who is proud of her work and sees it as something she does for her family and not something that causes others to dehumanize her. All in all, this is a very thoughtful play.
And that's our view. For more about A Thousand Maids or to purchase tickets, visit tworivertheater.org/whats-on/a-thousand-maids
Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.
Photo credits:
All A Thousand Maids production photos by T. Charles Erickson
Images used in this post have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and/or PR firms and are used by permission. If there is a problem with the rights to any image, please contact us here, and we will look into the matter.