Intended Audience
Produced by the Department of Theater, Film, and Media Studies and directed by guest artist Denise J. Hart from Howard University in Washington, D.C., “Stick Fly” is playwright Diamond’s comedy-drama of the depiction of generational conflict among an affluent contemporary African American family and friends, tackling issues of gender, race, class, and privilege in a searing way.
Written in 2008, the play follows members of the LeVay family, who gather at their Martha’s Vineyard home for the weekend. Brothers Kent and Flip have each brought his girlfriend home to meet the parents for the first time. Kent’s fiancée, Taylor, an academic whose absent father was a prominent author, struggles to fit into the LeVay’s upper-crust lifestyle. Kimber, on the other hand, a self-described WASP who works with inner-city schoolchildren, fits in more easily with the family.
Joining these two couples are the demanding LeVay patriarch, Joe, and Cheryl, the daughter of the family’s longtime housekeeper. As the two newcomers butt heads over issues of race and privilege, long-standing family tensions bubble under the surface and reach a boiling point when secrets are revealed.