British screenwriter and playwright Paul Webb spoke of how his play “Hold On” managed to make its world premiere on the Black Rep stage as the opening production of their 47th season with sheer wonder and delight.
“Pure miraculous chance – pure serendipity,” Webb said of how the staging, which continues through Sunday at Washington University’s Edison Theatre, came to be.
“My agent called and said, ‘Someone from America inquired about the film’s stage rights,’” Webb said. “And guess who owns the stage rights?’”
Turns out, it was Webb.
He’s tied to two Academy Award winning films thanks to writing a draft of “Lincoln” for Steven Spielberg, and his work on the screenplay that became Ava DuVernay’s cultural phenomenon “Selma.” But there isn’t a hint of the jaded Hollywood veteran stereotype one might expect of someone with his credentials. And the thought of adapting “Selma” for the stage instantly excited him.
“The thing that appeals to you straight away is that your ideas change,” said Webb. “You have a second chance and you have different priorities and ideas. You say, “I neglected this character. I didn’t do that character justice. It’s a wonderful second chance, really.”
His agent wanted the play to premiere in London. Webb disagreed.
“I was thinking that this was an American play, why aren’t we thinking about doing it in America? That’s where I want it done,” Webb said. “It belongs in America.”
With this in mind, his agent passed the play along to another theater industry professional across the pond. He passed it along to Ron Himes, who loved the idea of premiering the play at The Black Rep.
Webb had never heard of The Black Rep before it was confirmed that they would be the theater to bring his work to the stage for the first time. The performance and production quality – and the way Himes and The Black Rep served his story – is something Webb will never forget.
“You go into a theater production of your work and it can be so different each time and that is absolutely wonderful, because you think “I didn’t see it that way – or I wish I had seen it that way,” Webb said. “This is one of those cases where it was like, ‘this is better than anything I could have imagined, actually.’”
The way his story was handled with such care and intention were not lost on Webb as he saw the play staged for the first time. “I prefer it to the film,” Webb confessed. “I think it is more truthful than the film. Theater can be true in ways that cinema can’t. They are just so different.”
The biggest difference that audiences will notice between the film and stage version of the moment within the movement that adds context to the events surrounding what would become known as “Bloody Sunday” is the added character depth applied to the role of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The fleshing out serves Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as much as Johnson, according to Webb.
“It was a fascinating conflict between Johnson and King and it wasn’t just good versus bad,” Webb said. “Far from it actually, much more complicated and much more interesting. And that’s what you get from the play that you don’t get from the film.”
Webb says that In “Hold On,” audiences get to see King as the brilliant and fearless tactician that he was.
“He was actually more like a war general in many respects,” Webb said. I wanted to show what a powerful man king was. And for him to come up against Johnson – the president of the united states – like he did. I mean, King was 36 years old.”
The play also gave Webb the opportunity to showcase the political shrewdness of Johnson, which he feels gets overlooked in the larger landscape of American history.
“He was a brilliant politician,” Webb said. “But King had moral courage – he listened to his better angels. Johnson had the right ideas, but it was King who possessed the moral courage.”
He hopes that audiences are inspired by bearing witness to the efforts of movement leaders and soldiers and their success in the seemingly insurmountable quest to dismantle white supremacy and Black oppression.
“The right leadership and the right belief in the possibility of justice and the right to demand justice is a tremendously powerful thing – but it does need inspired and inspiring leadership,” Webb said. “Now more than ever we need to be aware of those possibilities and what can be achieved if you go after them.”
And more than anything, he is happy that his play was in the proper hands for its world premiere.
“A Black theatre company in St. Louis,” Webb said. “To be honest with you, I scarcely knew such a thing existed really. So, I am sitting there [on opening night] in awe and wonder, thinking, ‘how did I get this lucky?’”
The Black Rep’s presentation of “Hold On” continues through Sunday, January 28 at Washington University’s Edison Theatre, 6445 Forsyth. For tickets and additional information, visit www.theblackrep.org or call 314.534.3807.
