Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3)

Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3) is a trilogy of dramatic plays by American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks as part of an intended nine-part epic. The play adapts The Odyssey and tells the story of three time periods connected by the ideas of war, freedom and the African-American experience. It premiered in 2014 Off-Broadway at The Public Theater and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Plot

The play adapts the story of The Odyssey and other Greek mythical structures to explore idea, of war, freedom and the enslavement of African-Americans, told in three parts and utilizing an omnipresent Chorus.

Part 1: The Measure of a Man

The first part is set on a plantation in west Texas in 1862, following an enslaved man named Hero. He is presented with an offer to fight for the Confederate Army in exchange for freedom by his Boss-Master, and is faced with the choice of staying enslaved or sacrificing his life on a promise. His wife, Penny, urges him to stay, along with fellow slave, Homer, but to no avail, as he sets off to fight in the early morning.

Part 2: A Battle in the Wilderness

The second part is set two years after the events of the first in the warzone of the American Civil War. While fighting alongside and caring for his Boss-Master, the army, led by the Colonel, capture a Northern soldier, Smith, whom they chasise for leading a Black army. Through speaking with Smith, Hero learns he's actually black and considered "passing," and begins to question freedom and the meaning of his fight. Smith later offers Hero a chance to run away with him, but Hero decides to stay, intent on believing he can earn his freedom after the war.

Part 3:The Union of My Confederate Parts

The final part takes place back on the plantation after Hero's departure, following Penny and Homer sheltering runaway slaves. When they receive word that both Hero and Boss-Master perished in the war, they make plans to escape North. Just before they can, Hero arrives home, alive and renamed Ulysses, as he reads the Emancipation Proclamation.

Production history

2014 Off-Broadway premiere

The play was first workshopped in 2009 at The Public Theater's Lab, and again in 2014, before making its world premiere in late 2014 Off-Broadway at The Public Theater, directed by Jo Bonney and starring Sterling K. Brown as Hero. The production opened on October 28, 2014, running through December 7 after multiple extensions.

The production received critical acclaim, with The New York Times naming it a Critic's Pick and praising it as "philosophical and playful, lyrical and earthy" and lauded Brown's performance as "moving." The play was nominated for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 2016 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, along with two Lucille Lortel Awards, winning one for Ming-Trent. Parks won the 2014 Horton Foote Prize and the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Outstanding Drama Inspired by American History, presented by Columbia University.

2015 San Francisco production

The play was produced again in 2015 at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California, running from . The production was again directed by Bonney and starred as Benton Greene as Hero. The production was lauded as "epic" and praised for how "each moment gets practically its own play."

2016 Los Angeles production

It premiered in Los Angeles in 2016 at Center Theatre Group's Mark Taper Forum, running from April 5 to May 15, 2016, again directed by Bonney and starring Brown.

2016 West End production

The same year, the play had its UK premiere, opening on September 21, 2016, at the Royal Court Theatre. Directed by Bonney, the production starred Steve Toussaint as Hero/Ulysses, and ran through October 22, 2016. The Guardian praised the production as "epic in every sense," praising the "excellent cast" and "gripping" story.

2018 Connecticut production

In 2018, the play received a production at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, co-produced by American Conservatory Theater, directed by Liz Diamond and starring James Udom as Hero. It was praised by The Connecticut Critics' Circle as "fabulous" and "magnificent."

Cast and characters

Awards and nominations

Off-Broadway production