MPAACT (Ma’at Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre) produces a surprising story centered around the Afrikan diaspora at the Greenhouse Theater. Written by Leonard House, The Book of Me follows the birthday celebration of an 18-year-old who was adopted from Ethiopia by a U.S. couple, and her attempt to find out more about her birth parents.
Directed by Carla Stillwell, the show dives into controversial emotions surrounding adoption from the perspective of the adoptee, Wanda (Rita Wicks), and her adoptive mother, Abby (Alexandria Crawford). Wanda is supported by her longtime friend Camille, or Milly (Heather-Grace Bach) after her mother sets up an unwanted party for her 18th birthday. Wanda’s emotionally absent father Charles (Tamarus Harvell) spends the day failing to hide his affair with a coworker, while continuing to distance himself from Abby and her narcissistic instability.
At its core, Book of Me is a story about trying to piece together who you are, while missing the most important pieces. While Wanda believes her birth parents gave her up because they couldn’t afford to raise her, she plans a post-high-school-graduation trip to Ethiopia with Camille. Wanda begs and eventually demands Abby relinquish her birth certificate so she can get a passport, but ultimately Abby refuses, holding on to a more disturbing secret.
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