Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner still packs a punch. It might not be as powerful as it was back in 1967 when the movie first came out, but it hits hard enough as a stage adaptation to register strongly.
Written by Todd Kreidler and directed by Lita Gaithers Owens, the drama deals with the Drayton family whose liberal values are put to the test when Joanna (Mary Pumper), their beautiful young daughter, comes home and announces she intends to marry a black doctor (Vincent Washington, in the Sidney Poitier role). Miscegenation was a controversial issue at the time; it took real guts for a mixed-race couple to defy public opinion (and in some states, law) and think of marrying.
The starry-eyed Joanna is so mad about Dr. John Prentice that she has no compunctions about hitching up with him. Successful, upright and handsome, he’s the man of her dreams. Dr. John, who’s ten years older and has a child by a previous marriage, is equally smitten but won’t take the big step until Joanna’s parents consent to the union. Therein lies the conflict that drives the engine of this intense, well-produced, skillfully acted drama.
After the shock of having a black son-in-law wears off, Mrs Drayton (Lee Garlington) recovers her equilibrium and comes out in favor of the marriage. (“Whatever Jo wants is fine with me”). Things are different with Mr Drayton, though. As performed by Brad Greenquist (in the Spencer Tracy role), he steadfastly and vehemently opposes the marriage. Not because he’s a racist, though. The publisher of a liberal newspaper, he prides himself on his principled stand against segregation and prejudice. His disapproval stems from the fear that Joanna and Dr. John will be vilified and even physically attacked by the haters out there, the bigots and KKKers.
The battle intensifies when Dr. John’s parents arrive for dinner. Mr and Mrs Prentice (Dan Martin and Renn Woods) have their own view of inter-racial marriage–-and it’s a surprising though perfectly logical one. The quarrels and confrontations heat up and become loud and impassioned. Caught in the verbal cross-fire are three minor characters: a priest (Paul Denk), a wise-cracking black maid, Matilda (Vickiliyn Reynolds); and Hilary (Mouchette van Helsdingen), an art dealer.
The racial issues explored in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner still have relevance today in our divided country. The play might be old-fashioned in its construction and unfolding, but its message is as compelling and important as it was fifty years ago.
