The play has since been performed a countless number of times by a number of production companies. The story focuses on the lives of two college students, including Freeman, an African-American man with his sights set on Angelita, a Latina woman who gradually follows along with his advances. As a result, by addressing topics of how one should dress and look in addition to how one should speak or behave, Platanos y Collard Greens speaks to more than just a complicated college relationship.
The piece addresses the constant stereotyping, prejudice, and racial biases held against people of color as not only seen in the history of the United States, but the present day as well. As emphasized in the play, racism was a problem of the past, but it is also a problem of the present and is very much ongoing and alive.
Throughout the play, the actors relay poems focused on the reality of today. Similarly, other characters make references to the killings of black men by police forces such as Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, and Alton Sterling, among others. Most importantly, the play sheds light onto the intricate complexities seen in race relations, not only within society as a whole but also within communities with people of color.
Though the play is not overtly political, especially with its inclusion of witty jokes and comedic behavior, Platanos y Collard Greens is a unique way for audience members to understand the need for unity in the current day among all people.
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David Lamb: For several years. But what brought it to the fore in wanting to add it into the play was whenever we had union groups come to the play, there would be comments about how separate and distinct the African-American members and the Caribbean members were and how difficult it was to bring them together. DL: It was something that I always wanted to do. I mean, much of the play takes place on a college campus in New York, and many, if not most of the Black students on campuses in New York are Caribbean.
There is a certain type of marginalization that can happen to African-American students and organizations on those campuses, and this gives us a chance to talk about that. AmNews: What research did you do to find out the Caribbean stereotypes DL: that exist out there and that come into play when it comes to relationships? Well, funny enough, two of my cousins are married to guys from the Caribbean, and they have had their own funny cultural misunderstandings.
DL: In this expanded version, we find out that the father of Freeman, the main character, has had his own hilarious and poignant romantic complications. In the new production, who are Caribbeans having issues with?
DL: The play deals with a lot of stereotypes between African-Americans and people from the Caribbean, most of which are ridiculous on their face, but the play gives us a chance to really show how ridiculous they are!
But also, many people from the English-speaking Caribbean went to work on the Panama Canal decades ago and became part of the Panamanian population, so you have this population in the city with roots in both the West Indies and in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. And this has a great effect on music today that we think of as solely Latino, and we get into that in a very funny way.
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