"One of the best items that I have found in over twenty-seven years
of high school theater. It fills a void...It offers excellent roles for both Black and White, has a
marvelous message, and is never preachy."—Jerry E. Miller, Chatham, Va., High School.Two
families have lived side by side for years in a rural area. Now the husbands are dead, the children
have moved to the city, and Lena and Maude are left alone. Are they lonely? Not at all. They enjoy
peace and independence after years of hard work raising families. It so happens that Lena is
African-American and Maude is white, but race has never affected their friendship. Suddenly the state
decides to build a freeway through their small parcels of land, and they will have to move. Their
children from the city come to help...or should we say interfere? Here is a play with wonderful humor
and great pathos as we ask once again: "What is 'progress' doing to our wonderful world?"
The play
is full of symbolism. Lena and Maude's friendship, common pleasures and problems have erased any ethnic
conflict which may have once been present. Both old women show pride in their heritage and in their
way of doing things. Lena has the speech of an old-time Southern Negro; Maude uses the pronunciation
and syntax of her pioneer Anglo-Saxon ancestors. The rapid cultural changes which have characterized
the twentieth century are shown in the speech of the children who show the same symbolic shift from
the simple rural life to the complex money-dominated city-world.
"We live in a multi-cultural
society and The Freeway is an attempt at revealing as many modes of living as there are
characters in the play," said the author.
The Freeway is a powerful play for contests,
workshops, and programs of one-act plays.
3 black females, 1 black male, 2 white females, 1 white
male; 1 male, 1 female of either race. Simple exterior set; simple costumes.
Other Rozell plays: Nathan the Nervous; Of
Winners, Losers, and Games; Sharing; Searching
See also: Prejudice and Injustice, Environmental
Plays and Senior Citizen Theatre