Seattle Repertory Theatre Disciplines Stagehand For Using N-Word On The Job

Kimber Lee's BROWNSVILLE SONG (B-SIDE FOR TRAY), which played Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center's Claire Tow Theater in 2014 and was recently produced at the Seattle Repertory Theatre (SRT), concerns a young black man from Brooklyn named Tray, an aspiring boxer, whose life is violently cut short.

The play opens with a monologue spoken to the audience by the character of Tray's grandmother, Lena, who expresses resentment at a public that may reduce his death to just a few lines in newsprint.

She says, "Same Old Story so you gon feel bad and move on/ Cuz he just another/ Ain't he/ To you."

That incomplete sentence, "Cuz he just another," no doubt places a certain word into the heads of audience members. A controversy has now arisen because a white stagehand working for Seattle Rep, said the word aloud while discussing the play with a co-worker.

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