Hammer and Train by
With the 1949 racial riots in Peekskill, NY over a Paul Robeson concert as a backdrop, the play is narrated by Blue, an elderly Black, retired, railroad porter and singer and guitar player, as he recounts the story of his quasi, step-grandson, Heck, a young Black, promising NYC boxer and his relationship with Sara, a White, Jewish, Barnard college socialist. Concurrently, there are episodes of Rick, a White,...
With the 1949 racial riots in Peekskill, NY over a Paul Robeson concert as a backdrop, the play is narrated by Blue, an elderly Black, retired, railroad porter and singer and guitar player, as he recounts the story of his quasi, step-grandson, Heck, a young Black, promising NYC boxer and his relationship with Sara, a White, Jewish, Barnard college socialist. Concurrently, there are episodes of Rick, a White, blue-collar, Peekskill baseball pitcher hoping to sign professionally and his anxious, pregnant wife, Christine. Many of the characters embody members of the public from both NYC and Peekskill who reflect diverse socio-economic and political attitudes of the time period. When the couples confront each other shortly after the riot, the brewing conflict explodes. fight