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The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove
Written and directed by Regina Taylor
At the Goodman Theatre
170 N. Dearborn
Chicago, IL
Call 312-443-3800, tickets $20 - $65
Special Tuesday July 11 at 7:30 PM
Wednesdays at 7:30 PM
Thursdays at 2 & 7:30 PM
Fridays at 8 PM
Saturdays at 2 & 8 PM
Sundays at 2 & 7:30 PM
Running time is 2 hours, 30 minutes with intermission
Through July 23, 2006
The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove is a gripping character study
Writer and director Regina Taylor’s gripping portrait of Madam C. J. Walker (aka Sarah Breedlove 1867-1919) is a sprawling saga of the first Black woman to become a self-made millionaire. This fictional biography of Walker is a fascinating story as we see her emerging from a washerwoman earning a $1.50 per day to an owner of a business earning over $500,000 a year with 3,000 employees. Her hair care products helped shape African-American women’s self image. Taylor goes beyond a mere biography of a female entrepreneur to create a portrait of a woman who struggles to balance professional success with private happiness.
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Tony Award winner L. Scott Caldwell was commanding as Madam C.L Walker. Caldwell delivers Walker’s relentless drive toward achievement and her amazing focus on results. Caldwell also depicts Madam Walker’s frustration and struggles with her family life as we see her unable to control her daughter Lelia (Nikki E. Walker) and her inability to satisfy her second husband C. J. Walker (Keith Randolph Smith). The business is her primary focus. Taylor blends traditional Black slave and African traditions and myths with modern symbolic dreams to create a compellingly rich story. We see Sarah dream about a Black man wearing black feathers who enticers her to pursue a hair care product. 
The story is as much about Sarah’s struggles with the shifting relationship with her daughter Lelia who becomes a wild, sexually active rich playgirl despite Sarah’s warnings. The play is also Lelia’s story as we see her acting out in a vain attempt to get attention for the ever-traveling Sarah or Madam C. J. Walker. Lelia tries to control her adapted daughter, Mae (Libya Pugh) so that she will not become the same wild, love-starved woman like she is. The lessons of time and generations are of interest to playwright Taylor and are aptly developed in the play.
Madam C. J. Walker only trusts Freeman B. Ranson (Rolando Boyce, Sr.) to run her business affairs while she attends to social and political events geared toward helping Black women gain respect in both white and the black America.
Told with strength of purpose with richly developed characters, The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove contains wonderful telling speeches that paint an emotional view of the struggles of Black women in the early 20th Century. We see that no matter how rich Sarah becomes, she can’t seem to reconcile her inability to find peace of mind with her family. This is cautionary tale about the trappings of gaining wealth at the expense of personal happiness and family bliss. Regina Taylor’s work here is terrific reminding me of August Wilson. The cast is superb, especially L. Scott Caldwell. This is wonderful storytelling.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcst
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2006
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