Best of Enemies, now playing at the University of Oregon, is a drama that shocks, informs and leads to a nearly miraculous friendship between two mortal enemies.
The play by Mark St. Germain, based on a book by Osha Gray Davidson, would be unbelievable, if it weren’t true. In 1971, Durham, North Carolina, like many other southern cities, still had not complied with the US Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling that public schools must be integrated.
The play begins when Bill Riddick, a community organizer, comes to Durham and holds a series of town meetings, attempting to reach an accord between Blacks and Whites. He somehow convinces Ann Atwater, a Black civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, Exalted Cyclops of Durham’s Ku Klux Klan, to serve as co-chairs of the meetings. These two have long hated each other.
Under the finely attuned direction of Stanley Coleman, this emotional story unfolds clearly, as these two fascinating characters work their way toward consensus. Both of them are uneducated but intelligent, both are parents wanting a better life for their children, and both suffer community ostracism for sharing the same goal.
A talented student cast brings this history to vibrant life. Jimmy Ravitch ranges from scary to pitiful as a deeply moving C.P. Ellis. Paris Woodward-Ganz portrays a brave Ann. James Keaton makes a wily Bill Riddick, knowing just how far he can push irate Klansmen. Rachelle George as C.P.’s loving but worn down wife is as real as it gets. A.J. Jernigan and Sean Glover play minor roles.
Best of Enemies is a gripping 90-minute revelation that everyone should experience.