Description
A powerful black female business owner is invited to the home of a successful Jewish man for a potential business project. After the meeting, he realizes that his family heirloom watch is gone. Thereby hinges the story of Defamation, wherein this very dilemma leads to a riveting courtroom encounter that illuminates our common perceptions about race, religion and class.
In this case, the plaintiff is Ms. Wade, a professional black woman from the South Side of Chicago. The defendant is Mr. Golden, a successful North Shore buinsessman who is Jewish. The play opens with Judge Adrian Barnes laying out the case as well as the stakes involved. Following testimony from each side plus a key witness, the judge tells the audience he’s not going to adjudicate the case; the audience will be the jury. He polls the audience a second time. The result decides the evening’s trial. The case is not a simple he said, she said.” There are twists and turns that keep the audience on their toes.
A case without a smoking gun, Defamation 
