Say It Flo is a tribute to attorney and activist Florynce Kennedy. The play by Michelle Tyrene Johnson just received an excellent staging by A Call to Conscience in the Legend Room of the National Blues Museum.
In December 2000, Kennedy’s obituary in the New York Times was headlined, “Flo Kennedy, Feminist, Civil Rights Advocate and Flamboyant Gadfly, Is Dead at 84.” Kennedy was a fierce advocate for feminism, civil rights, abortion rights, and many other causes. In the Times obituary, former New York City mayor David N. Dinkins said, “If you found a cause for the downtrodden of somebody being abused someplace, by God, Flo Kennedy would be there.”
Kennedy was one of the first to recognize the intersectionality of different kinds of inequality. In an undergraduate essay written at Columbia University in the 1940s, Kennedy wrote that the “similarities of the societal positions of women and Negroes are fundamental rather than superficial.”
The Times obituary credits Kennedy with drawing attention to her causes with “flamboyant attire and sometimes outrageous comments.” One of her most memorable protests was at Harvard University. She organized a demonstration during which fake urine was dumped on the steps of a building to decry the lack of women’s restrooms.
As Johnson’s play observes, Kennedy is less remembered today than some of her contemporaries in the Feminist movement. Say It Flo is a welcome corrective.
The setting of Say It Flo is a one-day interactive museum exhibit honoring Kennedy’s legacy. Somehow, Kennedy’s spirit materializes at the exhibit shortly before its opening. She does not understand what has happened, but she is not fazed. She is soon joined by Ray Wade, a reporter who has been given early access to the exhibit so he can write a story about it.
Kennedy does not make it easy for Ray. She pretends to be curator at the museum whose name is Casey Black. The name “Casey” comes from Kennedy’s hometown, Kansas City, Missouri, where she was born in 1916. She insists that Ray prove himself worthy of writing about Kennedy by demonstrating what he already knows about her.
Putting Ray on the spot to tell Kennedy’s story is a shrewd strategy. It keeps Kennedy from having to say too much about herself. When it is time for Kennedy to comment on her life and activism, the focus shifts to her, and Ray remains silent and motionless.
Erin Renée Roberts’ portrayal of Kennedy was superb. Roberts captured Kennedy’s pride, indignation, flair, intellect, determination, and wit. Mason Brown’s Ray was a splendid scene partner for Kennedy.
Mariah Richardson’s direction clearly distinguished between Kennedy’s interactions with Ray, her interior monologues, and her imagined conversations with other characters who are heard but not seen. The excellent voice-over artists were Peghee Calvin as Kennedy’s mother, Claire Monarch as Gloria Steinem, and Molly Burris as Betty Friedan.
The production featured highly effective technical work in Eddie Teshara’s set, Ponchita Argieard’s costume and props, Linda Lawson-Mixon lighting, Ahsa-Ti Nu Tyehimba-Ford’s sound, Fannie Lebby’s multimedia design, and Edwin Grider’s videography.
My internet searches found very little information about Say It Flo. If it doesn’t already have a publisher, I hope this review helps it find one. Say It Flo deserves a wide audience.
—Gerry Kowarsky
