She Found Her Distinct Voice Portraying Nearly 20 Characters In The Play ‘Home’

Brittany Inge knew the play at home when the Roundabout Theater Company and director Kenny Leon asked him to participate in a reading of Samm-Art Williams' beloved 1979 drama. It was April 2021, the pandemic was raging and they had to rehearse and film the reading on Zoom.

At the time, the Rotonda Theater had announced the creation of the Refocus Project. The multi-year program is dedicated to amplifying and restoring marginalized plays to the American canon.

“It was great to discover the piece through the Refocus Project, which has the mission of redefining what makes a “classic” play by highlighting the 20th century works of BIPOC playwrights that were left behind by history. Not because of their merits, but because of their identities,” says Inge. “I certainly benefited from their mission. I had never heard of it at home up to that point

From the outset he had a visceral reaction to Williams' critically acclaimed play that was first produced by the Negro Ensemble Company, transferred to Broadway in 1980 and nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. “I immediately fell in love with the language,” says Inge. “The way the piece moves so seamlessly between scenes and poetry/prose.”

during at home Cephus Miles, a black farmer, is tied to the tobacco fields and his family's small farm in Cross Roads, North Carolina. No matter how much he cares for the land with devotion, this land of haves and have-nots does not care for him. Miles' deeply held religious beliefs against killing and loving thy neighbor lead him to refuse to enlist in the Vietnam War. The consequences are dire. His life falls apart from here.

Throughout the work, the concept of home as a physical and spiritual place is always approached. “Home is a coming-of-age story about Cephus Miles being challenged and overcome by life. And the play tells the story of him finding his way back, not just to his physical home, his earth, but in his home with God and his home within himself,” says Inge. “The play sees him find his way back to his core values.

Last month at home opened on Broadway at the Todd Haimes Theater at the Roundabout Theatre. The play was released days after Samm-Art Williams died at the age of 78. Directed by Kenny Leon, at home stars Inge, Tory Kittles and Stori Ayers. While Kittles plays Cephus Miles, Ayers and Inge play the rest of the characters in it, including the preachers, girlfriends, and various family members.

Between them, Inge and Ayers play around 40 characters. The trio forms a cohesive and unified ensemble: a fine-tuned orchestra. “We're a 3-man band on stage, the only thing we have is each other. So trust had to develop quickly,” says Inge. “Honestly, we got on and gave ourselves to the process.”

At first, both Inge and Ayers were afraid of having to play with so many different people, but it turned into a joyful challenge. “Kenny was adamant that each character had to be specific and different, whether we were turning into three lines or three pages,” says Inge. “We used inspiration from everywhere—members of our families, online clips, our imaginations—to help create the 40 characters we embody between the two of us.”

One of the most notable people Inge plays is Pattie Mae Wells, who plays such a pivotal role in Cephus' life. The character has a special place in his heart. “I feel like she and Cephus are going on parallel journeys throughout the show, but we stick with Cephus for more of hers. Pattie is also on a journey to figure out what's important to her and what home really means in his life and in his heart,” says Inge.

“What I love most about Pattie is how familiar and familiar she feels to me and 'in' me, as a character. She's the easiest character for me to play. She feels like an ancestor of mine” .

Jeryl Brunner: The House Playwright Samm-Art Williams died days before your first preview. Have you had a chance to talk to him? And what would you like to say to him, now that you are in the middle of the performances?

Brittany Inge: Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to speak with Samm-Art before his death. But if I had the chance to talk to him, the first thing I would have done is to thank him for this beautiful work. And then, I probably would have asked him about the real people in his life who inspired the characters Cephus encounters throughout the show.

Brunner: How's it going at home has it changed you

Angel: I feel expanded by this work, as an artist and as a human being. I am forever changed. I feel stronger and more in tune with myself – my imagination space feels somehow reactivated. I always say that at home is “a beast of a piece”, but more than that, at home it's a gift He leaves you better than he found you. I don't think I'll ever approach this craft the same way after the impact of this piece.

Brunner: If someone were to ask, “Why should I watch? at home,” What would you say?

Angel: I think everyone will be able to see themselves and a part of their journey reflected in them, whether it's in Cephus or in one of the many characters they meet throughout their lives. Everyone has something to learn and recognize within the story of Cephus.