Mengwe Wapimewah Gives a Broadway-Caliber Performance in Dominique Morisseau's Confederates at PlayMakers Rep

This article was published by Triangle Review on 6 March 2025.

PlayMakers Repertory Company's production of Tony Award®-nominated playwright and 2018 MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow Dominique Morisseau'sConfederates, directed by Christopher Windom and being performed in the Paul Green Theatre on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, takes a daring, nuanced approach to themes of race, privilege, and historical memory.

Set in two distinct periods -- during the American Civil War and in the modern day -- Confederates moves seamlessly between a one-room slave cabin on a Confederate plantation and a prestigious university professor's office in the current world. What could easily become preachy or overly sentimental instead feels strikingly personal and intimate, thanks to Morisseau's sharp, frank dialogue and the actors' fierce performances.

The play opens with an empty stage -- a warm wooden floor and backdrop -- and a projection of Abraham Lincoln's letter affirming the irrevocability of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Sandra, a prominent Black political science professor played by Kathryn Hunter-Williams, walks onto the stage as if she is giving a lecture to the audience; and the stark projection of Lincoln's letter is replaced by an image of a Black woman breastfeeding a white child. The woman's face transitions into Sandra's own, and the audience learns that this altered image has been posted on the door to Sandra's office.

Sandra disappears backstage, and the audience is transported to the one-room cabin of Sara, a cotton-picking plantation slave played by Mengwe Wapimewah. Sara is stitching up her brother Abner (Kristofer Wilson), who has escaped and joined the Union Army and visits her secretly. As they discuss the Civil War and the freedom that it promises, Sara's poignant, humorous lines and natural charisma immediately establish her as a character who can transcend the limitations of her circumstances.

As the play shifts back and forth between Sara's world and Sandra's present-day office, playwright Dominique Morisseau invites us to consider the similarities between the systemic oppressions faced by both women, despite the centuries between them.

In Sandra's office, we meet Malik (also played by Kristofer Wilson), a Black male student who objects to his harsh grading, compared with what he sees as Sandra's more lenient treatment of her white students.

Back on the plantation, Missy Sue (Elizabeth Dye), the plantation owner's daughter who was "best friends" with Sara throughout her childhood, has returned to rekindle their relationship. Missy Sue asks Sara to spy on her father, who is involved with the Confederate Army, and to send information via Abner to the Union Army. In parallel, Dye also plays Candice, Sandra's white assistant who personifies the woke, well-meaning, often foot-in-mouth privileged white side of society's systemic racism.

While cleaning in the big house, Sara is forced to confront LuAnne (Tia James), a beautiful house slave who is close to the plantation owner and has enjoyed privileges that Sara cannot access. The exchange between the two women, filled with distrust, hurt, and yearning for kinship, is mirrored in the present-day Sandra's conversations with Jade (also played by Tia James), a more nurturing, less well-known professorial colleague who is seeking Sandra's support for tenure. The characters' parallel struggles serve as powerful commentary on the past and current challenges of interracial relationships.

I am not blowing smoke when I say that ALL of the actors in this production are incredible. They feel their roles in a personal way that makes the audience feel them as well.

Elizabeth Dye is both comically exaggerated and poignantly serious in her dual portrayal of Missy Sue and Candice, comically capturing the awkwardness and privilege inherent in each role.

Tia James' portrayals of both LuAnne and Jade exude confidence and intelligence, while also revealing the characters' vulnerability and desire for solidarity.

Kristofer Wilson makes the characters of Abner and Malik relatable and empathetic in both the historical and modern settings.

And then there is Kathryn Hunter-Williams, who may deliver the finest performance of her 26-season career as Sandra. Her portrayal of the conflicted, ambitious professor is a tour de force, navigating the complexity of her character's frustrations, intellect, humanity, and deliberate self-control. 

But the standout performance belongs to Mengwe Wapimewah as Sara. Her poignant and humorously defiant delivery of Sara's lines -- not to mention her pronounced yet credible facial expressions -- cements her as the emotional heart of the play. Wapimewah's ability to make Sara both a symbol of historical suffering and a fully realized, relatable human being is truly impressive.

Dominique Morisseau's Confederates', which extended its one-month 2022 Off-Broadway premiere from March 8th until April 24th, proves that it deserves national recognition. The play is a masterful blend of historical depth and contemporary relevance that highlights ongoing struggles for justice and equality that are just as pertinent today as they were 150 years ago. If this production embarks on a national tour, it would be a privilege to see Mengwe Wapimewah bring Sara to life again.