Trouble in Mind

A masterpiece . . .Trouble in Mindstill contains astonishing power; it could have been written yesterday. VultureAhead of its time,Trouble in Mind, written in 1955, follows the rehearsal process of an anti-lynching play preparing for its Broadway debut. When Wiletta, a Black actress and veteran of the stage, challenges the plays stereotypical portrayal of the Black characters, unsettling biases come to the forefront and reveal the ways so-called progressive art can be used to uphold racist attitudes. Scheduled to open on Broadway in 1957, Childress objected to the requested changes in the script that would sanitize the play for mainstream audiences, and the production was canceled as a result. Childresss final script is published here with an essay by playwrightBranden Jacobs-Jenkins, editor of TCG Illuminations.