Harriet's Return
Closed 2h 0m
Harriet's Return
86%
86%
(37 Ratings)
Positive
95%
Mixed
5%
Negative
0%
Members say
Great acting, Absorbing, Masterful, Thought-provoking, Ambitious

About the Show

Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre presents a 20th anniversary restaging of this bioplay on Harriet Tubman, written and performed by Karen Jones Meadows.

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Critic Reviews (4)

TheaterScene.net
February 13th, 2018

"Ms. Meadows sounds and looks like she really is a person in the 1840's. This vocal expertise combined with Meadows' altering of her physiognomy, beaming eyes and her charisma, achieves a performance of tremendous range and depth...Each characterization is rendered with precision and variance. Though the piece's tone is by its nature serious, Meadows finds humor whenever possible...Showcases Meadows' immense performing and writing abilities while telling a major chapter of US history."
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Stage Buddy
February 12th, 2018

"Playing Harriet Tubman from age six to ninety (and other characters), Meadows' performance surges with power, catching the passionate, fighting spirit of Harriet herself. It's a power that transcends time and place and finally passes from Harriet to the audience...Astutely written as well as performed...This is much more than just a history lesson. With each episode, Meadows' Harriet emerges more clearly as a deeply human hero...Meadows' performance is electric."
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B
February 17th, 2018

"Meadows' tale is set at a time fear sat on everyone’s elbow, but as Meadows re-creates Tubman, we see not only triumph over fear, but we come to ignore it as she does...Clinton Turner Davis directs to highlight obstacles overcome. The play itself has a forward thrust, as Tubman is energized by her success...Her portrait on stage at the Castillo Theatre is moving and holds you in its grip as almost a hundred years of Tubman’s life journey by."
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N
February 12th, 2018

"Meadows has created a much fuller and more fitting portrait of Tubman than a $20 bill could ever present...Meadows performs with untiring energy...The performance brings to life the way stations of this woman with insight into the many painful conundrums...Performs an actor's tour de force as she brings to life the complex history of a remarkable person, always down-to-earth but with a soaring spirit."
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