‘Behind the Sun’ tackles history of local housing discrimination

THEATER REVIEW

Powerful performance by Darius Dotch commands the stage

Scott Witebsky, left, and Darius Dotch perform in the History Theatre’s season-opening production of “Behind the Sun,” a new play by Stanley Kipper and Laura Drake. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RICK SPAULDING — HISTORY THEATRE

FROM LEFT, CHARLA MARIE BAILEY, DARIUS DOTCH, SCOTT WITEBSKY AND JANE FROILAND IN THE HISTORY THEATRE’S “BEHIND THE SUN,” INSPIRED BY THE STORY OF CO-WRITER STANLEY KIPPER’S FAMILY AND HIS FATHER’S PLOT TO WORK AROUND REDLINING LAWS IN MINNEAPOLIS, PURCHASE A HOME AND DESEGREGATE A NEIGHBORHOOD. THE SHOW RUNS THROUGH OCT. 13 AT THE ST. PAUL THEATER.

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By Rob Hubbard

Special to the Pioneer Press

Most Minnesotans probably think of racial segregation as a southern thing. But it played a big role in deciding who lives where in Minnesota. Federal mortgage lending policies of the 20th century dovetailed with the practices of banks and real estate agents to force people of color and Jews to live in certain neighborhoods of Minneapolis and St. Paul, leaving them unable to buy houses elsewhere.

Two of those people of color were Obie and Mary Kipper, he a postal employee, she an elementary school teacher. In 1956, with crime rising in their South Minneapolis neighborhood, they decided to move further south within the city. Obie had his eye on a house for sale near McRae Park, not far from Minnehaha Creek. But the Kippers were Black, and neither banks nor real estate agents were responsive to their queries.

So Obie and a friend came up with a plan to beat the system, and that’s the basis for History Theatre’s season-opening production of “Behind the Sun.” Written by Obie and Mary’s son, Stanley Kipper, and collaborator Laura Drake, it’s something of a true caper story that’s entertaining, educational and valuable for those wishing to keep a clear-eyed view of how the state became what it is today.

This isn’t the first time that History Theatre has addressed housing discrimination within the state: During its 2021-22 season, it presented “Not in Our Neighborhood!” — which told the story of the first Black homebuyer in St. Paul’s Macalester-Groveland area — and “Not for Sale,” about a 1960s real estate agent who played a role in desegregating neighborhoods. But “Behind the Sun” is a more intriguing story, featuring considerably more insight into what drives each of the characters.

“Behind the Sun” has something in common with “Not in Our Neighborhood!” in that the homebuyer signing on the dotted line, and dealing with the subsequent repercussions of harassment and violence, is played by the same actor, Darius Dotch. In the 2021 play, he cut a memorable figure as the invariably calm and elegant attorney, William Francis. But Obie Kipper is not so unflappable.

In a tour de force performance, we watch Dotch’s Obie evolve from a warm and supportive husband and father to a furious man under siege. I’ve admired Dotch’s work for years, and I’ve never seen him command a stage as he does in this production’s second act. It’s a powerful performance that deserves to be experienced.

Complementing him well are Scott Witebsky and Jane Froiland as the couple that poses as the Kippers to help them buy a home, the show reaching its comedic apex during Froiland’s edge-of-panic encounters with James Ramlet’s smarmy bigot of a real estate agent.

It’s unsurprising that this is the first play that Stanley Kipper and Laura Drake have written, as all of their dialogue is relatively un-nuanced and straightforward. Yet the story is buoyed by Kipper’s clear affection for his family and these memories, as well as the very 1956 feel of Rick Polenek’s set, Meghan Kent’s costumes and Katharine Horowitz’s playlist and sound effects.

Under Richard D. Thompson’s direction, “Behind the Sun” holds a history lesson that might be tough to tackle for some, but it does so with a humanity that no history book can evoke.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.