Delanna Studi's "And So We Walked" is probably the first One-Woman show where the word "epic" can be properly applied. Yet, despite its breadth, I enjoyed its small moments most. Moments like when Studi was a grade schooler, and Native Americans were called "extinct" by a virtue on a rule in the curriculum, which Studo's father- a towering presence in the show- managed to get overturned. Or moments where little traditions are revealed, like defacing $20s because of the presence of Andrew "Indian Killer" Jackson. These brief stories truly inform the whole, and give the Big Event at the play's center huge personal meaning.
The recurring motif of dreams is also effective, but to uninitiated eyes, the lines between them can occasionally be blurred.
I wonder if the bookending with Artist's Rep's "The Thanksgiving Play" was intentional, because they complement each other tremendously, because "And So We Walked" is a show in which a Native Woman tells her story, and "The Thanksgiving Play" is about what happens when others try to tell stories for others. The contrast is remarkable, even beyond the humor. I feel privileged to have watched these shows by voices so neglected, that in all my years of theatre going, I believe that they are the only two I've seen from a Native perspective.
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