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The Brother/Sister Plays
"McCraney's richly drawn characters and colloquial poetry . . . manages to sound both epic and rooted in a specific place. Listen closely, and you might hear that thrilling sound that is one of the main reasons we go to the theater, that beautiful music of a new voice."--"The New York Times""Taut, expressive drama, "The Brothers Size" realizes the potential of theater to elevate the ordinary. . . . McCraney's writing can be arresting."--"Time Out New York"This is the first collection by Tarell Alvin McCraney, a major new playwright of the American theater. Lyrical and mythic, provocative and contemporary, McCraney's dramas of kinship, love, and heartache are set in the bayou of Louisiana and loosely draw on West African myths. "In the Red and Brown Water" charts the story of Oya, a fast and beautiful track star who must make difficult choices on her journey to womanhood. "The Brothers Size" dramatizes the struggle between brothers who have taken different Ogun, single-mindedly running his auto shop, and Oshoosi, recently returned from prison and fallen back with trouble. "Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet" explores a young man's relationship with his history and friends as he discovers his sexuality and true self against the backdrop of an impending storm.Tarell Alvin McCraney's other works include "Wig Out!" and "The Breach." His plays have been produced at The Public Theater in New York, internationally at the Royal Court Theatre and Abbey Theatre, and throughout the United States.
180 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 19, 2018
This collection is actually three separate but interconnected plays, all of which were produced around 2008-2009. I rarely read plays, but after fangirling over some screenshots of the shooting script for Moonlight, I figured Tarell Alvin McCraney’s earlier work might be a good place to start.
These plays, In The Red and Brown Water, The Brothers Size, and Marcus, or the Secret of the Sweet, are simultaneously otherworldly, imaginative, and comfortingly lifelike. Nearly all of the characters are named for orishas, minor Nigerian gods and goddesses. I wasn’t the craziest about the African symbolism—maybe I’m experiencing a delayed hotep fatigue after three years in Philadelphia, or maybe it just didn’t click how McCraney intended. I’m planning to do some more research on the myths of these orishas, and maybe that will increase my rating here. Either way, there are some things I definitely loved in these stories.
In The Red and Brown Water was perhaps the most confusing of the three, but when you read the plays on a continuum, I think that makes sense—you’re still getting to know all of these characters, and the magical, Louisiana world they inhabit. McCraney is a masterful designer of unrequited love stories, as well as the oft-undervalued love stories between friends and family. I loved the multiple forms of kinship in The Brothers Size, and how each man learned to love his brother in his own form. I think Marcus was a perfect consummation of the eclectic world McCraney creates in the other plays, and was so glad to see it expose us to new layers of black male relationships (fans of Moonlight should definitely read this one.)
I will say the format was a bit to get used to, and I’m sure the scenes would look better off paper. However, if you’re looking to spice up your reading patterns, or just read more of McCraney’s work, I’d definitely go for it!
These plays, In The Red and Brown Water, The Brothers Size, and Marcus, or the Secret of the Sweet, are simultaneously otherworldly, imaginative, and comfortingly lifelike. Nearly all of the characters are named for orishas, minor Nigerian gods and goddesses. I wasn’t the craziest about the African symbolism—maybe I’m experiencing a delayed hotep fatigue after three years in Philadelphia, or maybe it just didn’t click how McCraney intended. I’m planning to do some more research on the myths of these orishas, and maybe that will increase my rating here. Either way, there are some things I definitely loved in these stories.
In The Red and Brown Water was perhaps the most confusing of the three, but when you read the plays on a continuum, I think that makes sense—you’re still getting to know all of these characters, and the magical, Louisiana world they inhabit. McCraney is a masterful designer of unrequited love stories, as well as the oft-undervalued love stories between friends and family. I loved the multiple forms of kinship in The Brothers Size, and how each man learned to love his brother in his own form. I think Marcus was a perfect consummation of the eclectic world McCraney creates in the other plays, and was so glad to see it expose us to new layers of black male relationships (fans of Moonlight should definitely read this one.)
I will say the format was a bit to get used to, and I’m sure the scenes would look better off paper. However, if you’re looking to spice up your reading patterns, or just read more of McCraney’s work, I’d definitely go for it!
November 27, 2016
Innovative with a fully formed voice. A cool triptych—of the three, Brothers Size I think is best both standalone and in conjunction—just a huge emotional wallop in the middle there. Spoken stage directions are lyrical and genius. First is a little underdeveloped as story? Marcus is haunting and thick with adolescent lust but unsure if its climax speaks fully to the rest of the play.
Major accomplishment overall.
Major accomplishment overall.
January 22, 2018
Tarell Alvin McCraney is a storyteller. He has a magical way of weaving together a slang-y, conversational tone and a poetic beauty that caresses you in that way that's sometimes rough and sometimes so gentle you find yourself crying. I've had the great fortune of seeing "In the Red and Brown Water" and "The Brothers Size" performed within a few years of each other, and both experiences elevated McCraney's language to dance off the page, onto the stage, and into my soul. I have nothing but love for these plays. nothing but love.
April 17, 2011
Book. Different than Stage. Forced to imagine.
Book, enjoyed the book, but
Look forward to seeing it on stage
Where I can see how such strange
Dialogue
Works.
Book, enjoyed the book, but
Look forward to seeing it on stage
Where I can see how such strange
Dialogue
Works.
July 31, 2017
The book consisted of three plays that were phenomenal. Each play was intertwined but could stand out on it's on. There were many layers to the book; it dealt with sexuality, longing, loneliness, decision making, unrequited love, loyalty, incarceration and recidivism in the black community, etc. I found myself not being able to put the book down, and mind you it is a play and reads as such. I definitely recommend this play.
December 20, 2019
These were gorgeous, lyrical, experimental plays that combine Yoruba mythology with the housing projects in dream-world contemporary Louisiana, crossed with Lorca in the first one. I love Lorca, so the first one was my favorite by a long shot, but I appreciated the sibling relationship and exploration of life post-incarceration in The Brothers Size and the extremely TEENS! best friendships in Marcus.
November 10, 2020
I am reading the plays in the context of the Black Acting Methods initiative and the studies referencing McCraney's plays. The plays are terrific, sparse and poetic language, space for ritual and silence. I feel the presence of spirit even through the written page. the story line - particularly of the first play are a little too familiar. I wanted to see/hear more from Oya. I think that may have been remedied in a staged experience of the play, though.
June 4, 2022
Reading plays is always interesting, I’m not sure I do it correctly, but this one moves pretty fast. I would love to see the plays. Very beautiful and sad and also funny. Mainly read this because Moonlight was crazy good, and it’s kind of similar.
December 27, 2022
I bought this collection because I saw a production of The Brothers Size at American Players Theater, and I am glad I read all three plays. The interconnected stories develop complex characters who will stay with me for a long time.
May 24, 2020
**only read In the Red and Brown Water**
October 8, 2020
It is always weird reading plays. As soon as I got into the rhythm of this one, though, it was beautiful.
February 17, 2017
(4 stars for In the Red & Brown Water; 5 stars for The Brothers Size; 3 stars for Marcus.)
It’s not every day that a twentysomething playwright writes an ambitious trilogy that blends spoken stage directions, free-verse poetry, Yoruba mythology, and contemporary slang to tell the stories of an African-American community in the Louisiana bayou. But that’s Tarell Alvin McCraney’s achievement in his Brother/Sister Plays.
In the Red & Brown Water is our introduction to this world, and to McCraney’s inimitable voice. However, while the play’s style is unexpected and powerful, the story is kind of clichéd. Oya, the heroine, is torn between two men—the boring but reliable Ogun and the seductive but fickle Shango—and spends most of the second act despondent over her inability to get pregnant. Points to McCraney for trying to write a female-centered play, but I’m not sure he understands women as well as he understands men.
Ogun returns as one of the title characters of The Brothers Size, the trilogy’s centerpiece and masterwork. It is a tightly focused, 3-character drama with an ending that I find almost unbearably moving. The play delves deep into Ogun’s relationship with his younger brother Oshoosi, a charming fuck-up who recently got out of the penitentiary. Toward the end, the brothers lip-synch to a song—the script does not specify what song to use, but when I saw The Brothers Size at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre in 2010, the production used Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness.” I can’t imagine a better song choice: this play is really all about the tenderness and vulnerability of black men, the love they have for one another, in a society that refuses to acknowledge that tenderness. (In this, The Brothers Size has some similarities with Moonlight, the acclaimed 2016 film that is based on a different McCraney play.)
Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet has a more lighthearted tone than the other two plays. It depicts the next generation of the community, centering on Marcus, a 16-year-old boy coming to terms with the fact that he is “sweet” (gay). While the play has many charming moments, I find it kind of imbalanced in terms of its structure. An important character shows up out of nowhere at the start of the second act, and the characters talk a lot about how a hurricane is about to hit, but the hurricane never arrives.
It’s not every day that a twentysomething playwright writes an ambitious trilogy that blends spoken stage directions, free-verse poetry, Yoruba mythology, and contemporary slang to tell the stories of an African-American community in the Louisiana bayou. But that’s Tarell Alvin McCraney’s achievement in his Brother/Sister Plays.
In the Red & Brown Water is our introduction to this world, and to McCraney’s inimitable voice. However, while the play’s style is unexpected and powerful, the story is kind of clichéd. Oya, the heroine, is torn between two men—the boring but reliable Ogun and the seductive but fickle Shango—and spends most of the second act despondent over her inability to get pregnant. Points to McCraney for trying to write a female-centered play, but I’m not sure he understands women as well as he understands men.
Ogun returns as one of the title characters of The Brothers Size, the trilogy’s centerpiece and masterwork. It is a tightly focused, 3-character drama with an ending that I find almost unbearably moving. The play delves deep into Ogun’s relationship with his younger brother Oshoosi, a charming fuck-up who recently got out of the penitentiary. Toward the end, the brothers lip-synch to a song—the script does not specify what song to use, but when I saw The Brothers Size at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre in 2010, the production used Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness.” I can’t imagine a better song choice: this play is really all about the tenderness and vulnerability of black men, the love they have for one another, in a society that refuses to acknowledge that tenderness. (In this, The Brothers Size has some similarities with Moonlight, the acclaimed 2016 film that is based on a different McCraney play.)
Marcus, or the Secret of Sweet has a more lighthearted tone than the other two plays. It depicts the next generation of the community, centering on Marcus, a 16-year-old boy coming to terms with the fact that he is “sweet” (gay). While the play has many charming moments, I find it kind of imbalanced in terms of its structure. An important character shows up out of nowhere at the start of the second act, and the characters talk a lot about how a hurricane is about to hit, but the hurricane never arrives.
February 8, 2018
Had the great pleasure of seeing Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet at KCACTF this year, so I decided to pick up the whole collection.
They’re simply beautiful plays. What a fantastic combination of unique style, cultural rhythm, and voice. Not the easiest read, having seen what song, dance, and silence adds to the piece, but I think you get the image.
They’re simply beautiful plays. What a fantastic combination of unique style, cultural rhythm, and voice. Not the easiest read, having seen what song, dance, and silence adds to the piece, but I think you get the image.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews