A century ahead of Lincoln

I just performed A Clear Leading here in Washington, DC. The play is about John Woolman, a Quaker, who spoke against slavery 100 years before Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

There was an African-American gentleman in the audience, and after the play I told him how uncomfortable I always feel when portraying the racist characters in the play. He told me about an interview he once saw with a man who beat a slave in the mini-series Roots. The actor said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done, and when the scene was over he ran to his trailer and sobbed.

There were several in the audience yesterday that wept.

I'm glad for a play that makes people cry.

It's my prayer that through our tears we can see clearly to overcome our past and have a future of reconcilliation.