Harlem Duet

The playwright has called Harlem Duet a “rhapsodic blues tragedy.” What do you interpret this to mean? Take each word of this description and explain how it relates to the play’s structure, tone, and meaning. Use examples from the text to support your positions.

Harlem Duet is rich with references to real-life people and historic events that hold great importance to the Black community. Choose three of these references and discuss why they are important as well as why the playwright may have chosen to include them over others. For example, how do they help illustrate some of the play’s themes?

All three couples in the play are living under conditions of oppression. Compare and contrast the kinds of oppression they face, and how it influences their relationships, their decisions, and their respective futures. Also, do you believe that all versions of oppression seen in the play are due to external factors, i.e., systemic racism and inequitable gender roles, or are any of them self-imposed?

One of the main themes in Harlem Duet is racial inequality. Billie and Othello appear to have aligned themselves with the philosophies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., respectively. Which character presents the more convincing case for their argument? Support your position with examples from the text.

Although Harlem Duet borrows from Shakespeare’s Othello in many ways, one glaring difference is that Shakespeare’s Othello shares multiple character traits not with Sears’s Othello but instead with Billie. What are the parallels between the two? Does the gender change generate an additional layer of complexity? If so, why and how?

Derivations of Shakespeare’s Desdemona exist in each storyline: Mona in 1997 and 1928, and Miss Dessy in 1860. While 1997 Mona is heard but never seen, the other two are only mentioned by name. Why do you think that the playwright chose to not include these women on stage? What is the significance of their exclusion, especially that of 1997 Mona?

Discuss the characters of Magi and Amah. What do they bring to the play besides their shared concern for Billie’s health? What insights do they provide that help define the African American experience?

The Othellos in Harlem Duet cause the Billies great pain and strife that contributes to their descents into madness. Canada, on the other hand, reappears with the sole intention of healing and reconciliation. As the only other male in the play, what is the significance of his return, his mission, and his ability to bring Billie back from the darkness in which she is living?