SOME OF THE CAST OF “FEED THE BEAST: THE TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENT ON THE NEGRO MALE.” It plays from Feb. 13-23 at the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Helen Wayne Rauh Rehearsal Hall, Downtown.
‘Feed The Beast,’ New Horizon’s play, runs until Feb. 23
by Genea L Webb
For New Pittsburgh Courier
New York-based playwright Layon Gray sees his latest play, “Feed the Beast: The Tuskegee Experiment on the Negro Male,” as his new masterpiece.
“I gave this play an old school presentation,” Gray told the New Pittsburgh Courier. “A lot of times, today’s theater is shortened because of attention span, but I said this play deserves to be a full two hours and 20 minutes because it spans 40 years and I didn’t want to cheat the whole 40 years of this experience.”
“Feed the Beast” tells the story of the horrific Tuskegee, Alabama, medical experiments from 1932 to 1972. It follows a young, Black idealistic doctor who unearths the truth of the diabolical syphilis experiments. The production takes theatergoers on a journey following five unknowing participants in this secret study. Through their lives, the play shines a harsh light on the brutality of the study.
New Horizon Theater Chairperson, Joyce Meggerson-Moore, first saw “Feed the Beast” at the International Black Theater Festival last year. She instantly knew it would be the perfect offering for the theater’s Black History Month show.
“This is a historical play that people need to know about. You get to see the happy times in the men’s lives, too,” Meggerson-Moore said. “We hope that after seeing the play, people will do some more research on it because we were able to come out of this terrible history and be able to interpret this. They weren’t just a bunch of old men who were a part of an exciting experiment.”
The play runs from Feb. 13-23 for 11 performances at the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Helen Wayne Rauh Rehearsal Hall, 621 Penn Ave., Downtown. Tickets can be purchased at newhorizontheater.org, Dorsey’s Digital Imaging in Homewood, or by calling 412-431-0773. This will be the tenth play from Gray that New Horizon Theater Inc., has produced.
“We are glad that we are one of the people he trusts to put his work on stage. It’s been wonderful working with his group,” said Meggerson-Moore. “His actors are good and they can interpret his work. We see the good work he does. He’s a writer, director, actor and choreographer. We are glad to be associated with him. We want people to know they don’t have to go to New York to see top-notch productions. They are right here in Pittsburgh.”
Gray, who hails from Louisiana, believes the lack of medical attention afforded to African Americans back in the 1930s, combined with the current political landscape in the U.S., makes it the perfect time to make the production. “I like to tell human stories and I wanted to (discuss) the Selma walk, the Pettus Bridge, Shirley Chisolm’s run for president, JFK’s assassination,” etc. “All these moments were happening at the same time as the Tuskegee experiments. When I create characters, I make sure everyone can identify with them whether they are Black or White. The guys in the play have families and friends. They have dreams and goals they want to accomplish but they are getting sicker and sicker and they don’t know why,” Gray explained.
The play, which premiered at the 2024 International Black Theatre Festival and sold out every show, is making its regional debut with the Pittsburgh shows. Following his time in Pittsburgh, Gray will be working on a new historical piece in France. He was one of four Black writers chosen from around the world by the La Napoule Art Foundation Board of Trustees and the James Baldwin estate for a prestigious artist residency in Southern France in the French Riviera. The partnership aims to nurture creativity, foster intellectual exchanges, and amplify the voices of Black writers worldwide.
“A friend submitted my information to them. I was shocked when I got the call that I had been chosen. I’m honored to be able to sit and create something there,” Gray told the Courier.
New Horizon is also gearing up to finish out the rest of its season. The theater’s annual fundraising event will be held on May 3 and its last production of the season will be the musical “Sistas,” which will run in July and be directed by Eileen J. Morris.
Said Meggerson-Moore to the Courier: “We need audiences to attend to keep this cultural treasure alive in Pittsburgh.”
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