53 pages • 1 hour read
Harlem Duet
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Act I, PrologueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Act I, Prologue Summary
He and She, actors in 1928 Harlem, are in a dressing room. Blues music infuses the surroundings as Martin Luther King Jr.’s voice delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech from the 1963 March on Washington. He is shaving with a straight-edged razor as She stands nearby, holding a white handkerchief with strawberry markings. She asks if He recalls when he gave her the handkerchief, and she speaks romantically of how He pledged his eternal love to her. She also mentions the importance of Harlem: “Harlem’s the place to be now. Everyone who’s anyone is coming here now. It’s our time. In our place. It’s what we’ve always dreamed o […] sn’t it?” (21). She then begins to ask if He is in love with another woman: “Have you sung to her at twilight? Do you finger feed her berries dipped in dark and luscious sweets?” (22). Finally, She asks Him if the object of his affection is white. The answer is a simple “She’s White” (23), after which She drops the handkerchief near His feet. He ignores it. After a moment, He picks it up.
Act I, Prologue Analysis
The Prologue in Harlem Duet sets the tone for the entire play on multiple levels. First, it introduces the conceit of each scene opening with a musical variation of the blues, one of the African American community’s most representative art forms, as well as cuttings from famous speeches, events, or media moments that relate to the Black American experience. While hearing Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech in 1928 is anachronistic, it reveals the play’s themes, specifically, the Black community’s fight to acquire basic human rights in a society rooted in white supremacy. The theme of dreams is also introduced, not only through King’s words but also through She’s words regarding Harlem. Harlem in the 1920s ushered in the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most creative, literary, and artistic periods in American history. Moreover, Harlem as a home for the Black community was a realization of a dream—a location where they could coexist and flourish together. Last, the continuous references to Shakespeare’s Othello are set into motion, most notably, the appearance of a white handkerchief with strawberry markings. Copying Desdemona’s handkerchief, which, in Othello, facilitates the play’s tragedy, She’s handkerchief signals that something perilous is certain to happen.
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