I went and saw Ms. Evers’ Boys on Thursday October 6th , 2011. I had no prior knowledge of the play before going, so I had no idea what to expect. I had only heard that it was a good play, and I am happy to say that what I heard was right! The actors were very good and had everything down. The story of the play sent a message while also showing an amazing plot. The play opened my eyes to a some of the things African-Americans had to go through in the past. I never thought the government would do something so horrendous as to let thousands of people live with a disease as serious as syphilis and just study them and lie to them about treatment. That part of the play disgusted me, but what disgusted me more was the fact Ms. Evers allowed it to happen. While she could not have done much, she could have told Caleb, Ben, Willie, and Hodman about what was going on. I feel she lied to herself and the boys. She convinced herself and them that she was friend and could be trusted, but she was just a liar. I expect it did hurt to have to lie to them for all those years, but as they progressively got worse she should have felt some kind of obligation as a “friend” to tell them. The character of Caleb reminds me of myself because I’m not quick to trust people either, especially when it comes to something serious. If I was in the same position I would have done exactly what Caleb did, and got my shot.
Regardless of my personal feelings about what happened, I loved the play. It was very good, and the actors did a very good job. The emotion in Willie’s face at the end when he made them watch him try to dance with his bum leg was so pure and real. I actually was sucked into the story and felt bad for him. A small part of me felt bad for Nurse Evers because she had no friends in the end. However, part of me had absolutely no sympathy for her because of how she lied to her “friends” and essentially killed two of them.
I look forward to more plays from Howard students.
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