- Huntington Theatre Company

BY
UID
E
DAV
ESB ID
JO
RN
SO
N
DI
RE
CT
ED
O
N
TH
E
SC
RE
EN
PL
AY
BY
WIL D KR
LIA EID
M R LER
OS
E
BY
TOD
BA
SE
D
IN
GU
C
E
CU D OM SS
RR IN IN W
ICU NE G HO
LUM R TO ’S
G
MA
LCO
LM
-JA
MA
LW
AR
NE
R
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Standards 3
Guidelines for Attending the Theatre 4
Artists 5
Themes for Writing & Discussion 7
Mastery Assessment 9
For Further Exploration 10
Suggested Activities 13
© Huntington Theatre Company Boston, MA 02115
August 2014
No portion of this curriculum guide may be
reproduced without written permission from the
Huntington Theatre Company’s Department of
Education & Community Programs
Inquiries should be directed to:
Donna Glick | Director of Education
djglick@huntingtontheatre.bu.edu
This curriculum guide was prepared for the
Huntington Theatre Company by:
Marisa Jones | Education Consultant
with contributions by:
Donna Glick | Director of Education
Alexandra Truppi | Manager for Curriculum
& Instruction
COMMON CORE STANDARDS
IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
STANDARDS: Student Matinee performances and pre-show workshops provide unique opportunities
for experiential learning and support various combinations of the Common Core Standards for English
Language Arts. They may also support standards in other subject areas such as Social Studies and History,
depending on the individual play’s subject matter.
Activities are also included in this Curriculum Guide and in our pre-show workshops that support several
of the Massachusetts state standards in theatre. Other arts areas may also be addressed depending on the
individual play’s subject matter.
Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 3
Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 6
• Grades 8: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents
in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a
character, or provoke a decision.
• Grades 8: Analyze how differences in the points of view of the
characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through
dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.
• Grades 9-10: Analyze how complex characters (e.g. those with
multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of
a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or
develop the themes.
• Grades 9-10: Analyze a particular point of view or cultural
experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the
United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
• Grades 11-12: Analyze the impact of the author’s choices
regarding how to develop related elements of a story or drama
(e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the
characters are introduced and developed).
• Grades 11-12: Analyze a case in which grasping point of
view required distinguishing what is directly stated in a text
from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or
understatement).
Reading Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7
Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 5
• Grades 8: Compare and contrast the structure of two or more
texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text
contributes to its meaning and style.
• Grades 9-10: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how
to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots),
and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks), create such
effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
• Grades 8: Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live
production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from
the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director
or actors.
• Grades 9-12: Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama,
or poem (e.g. recorded or live production of a play or recorded
novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the
source text (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one
play by an American dramatist).
• Grades 11-12: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how
to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to
begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic
resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as
well as its aesthetic impact.
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
3
MASSACHUSETTS STANDARDS IN THEATRE
ACTING
• 1.7 — Create and sustain a believable character throughout a
scripted or improvised scene (By the end of Grade 8).
• 1.12 — Describe and analyze, in written and oral form, characters’
wants, needs, objectives, and personality characteristics (By the
end of Grade 8).
• 1.13 — In rehearsal and performance situations, perform as a
productive and responsible member of an acting ensemble
(i.e., demonstrate personal responsibility and commitment to a
collaborative process) (By the end of Grade 8).
• 1.14 — Create complex and believable characters through the
integration of physical, vocal, and emotional choices (Grades
9-12).
• 1.15 — Demonstrate an understanding of a dramatic work by
developing a character analysis (Grades 9-12).
• 1.17 — Demonstrate increased ability to work effectively alone
and collaboratively with a partner or in an ensemble (Grades
9-12).
READING AND WRITING SCRIPTS
• 2.7 — Read plays and stories from a variety of cultures and
historical periods and identify the characters, setting, plot,
theme, and conflict (By the end of Grade 8).
• 2.8 — Improvise characters, dialogue, and actions that focus on
the development and resolution of dramatic conflicts (By the
end of Grade 8).
• 2.11 — Read plays from a variety of genres and styles; compare
and contrast the structure of plays to the structures of other
forms of literature (Grades 9-12).
TECHNICAL THEATRE
• 4.6 — Draw renderings, floor plans, and/or build models of sets
for a dramatic work and explain choices in using visual elements
(line, shape/form, texture, color, space) and visual principals (unity,
variety, harmony, balance, rhythm) (By the end of Grade 8).
• 4.13 — Conduct research to inform the design of sets, costumes,
sound, and lighting for a dramatic production (Grades 9-12).
CONNECTIONS
• Strand 6: Purposes and Meanings in the Arts — Students will
describe the purposes for which works of dance, music, theatre,
visual arts, and architecture were and are created, and, when
appropriate, interpret their meanings (Grades PreK-12).
• Strand 10: Interdisciplinary Connections — Students will apply
their knowledge of the arts to the study of English language
arts, foreign languages, health, history and social science,
mathematics, and science and technology/engineering (Grades
PreK-12).
AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE
Attending live theatre is a unique experience with many
valuable educational and social benefits. To ensure that all
audience members are able to enjoy the performance, please
take a few minutes to discuss the following audience etiquette
topics with your students before you come to the Huntington
Theatre Company.
• How is attending the theatre similar to and different from
going to the movies? What behaviors are and are not
appropriate when seeing a play? Why?
• Remind students that because the performance is live,
the audience’s behavior and reactions will affect the
actors’ performances. No two audiences are exactly the
same, and therefore no two performances are exactly
the same — this is part of what makes theatre so special!
Students’ behavior should reflect the level of performance
they wish to see.
4
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
• Theatre should be an enjoyable experience for the audience.
It is absolutely all right to applaud when appropriate and
laugh at the funny moments. Talking and calling out during
the performance, however, are not allowed. Why might this
be? Be sure to mention that not only would the people
seated around them be able to hear their conversation,
but the actors on stage could hear them, too. Theatres are
constructed to carry sound efficiently!
• Any noise or light can be a distraction, so please remind
students to make sure their cell phones are turned off (or
better yet, left at home or at school!). Texting, photography,
and video recording are prohibited. Food, gum, and drinks
should not be brought into the theatre.
• Students should sit with their group as seated by the Front
of House staff and should not leave their seats once the
performance has begun.
ARTISTS
TODD KREIDLER—
PLAYWRIGHT
Todd Kreidler was a fan of
the film Guess Who’s Coming
to Dinner long before he
tackled the stage adaptation,
recognizing it to be a “cultural
touchstone that “literally
brought the issue of race into
the home.” He agreed to adapt
the film with a present-day
audience in mind. As Kreidler
has explained:
“I wanted to take the
opportunity to talk about and
engage in the attitudes of 1967, but in a way that was for the
21st century. These attitudes and ideas are still very much alive.
People have tried to make linguistic adjustments so racism today
has become more covert. The systemic racism and the endemic
attitudes are cloaked, but they’re still very much alive. Just look
at the disproportionate amount of blacks living in poverty or the
criminalization of young black men. That’s not an opinion about
society. Those are verifiable facts. You’re on one of two sides. You
either say that young black men are somehow more criminally bent,
that it’s built into them to be more violent or more criminal, or you
believe — as I do — that this is our American legacy from slavery
that we are still struggling to redress.”
Once he began work on the play, Kreidler chose not to watch the
film again, instead focusing on the overarching themes of the story,
rather than the cinematic details. His play premiered at True Colors
Theatre Company in Atlanta, Georgia in 2012 starring Phylicia
Rashad (famous for her role in the 1980s sitcom “The Cosby Show,”
where she worked alongside Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who will star
in the Huntington’s production of the play).
Kreidler has enjoyed a long career in the theatre and is a
self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades. From box office employee
to electrician, he has participated in nearly every aspect of a
full-scale theatre production. He had a longstanding relationship
with the great American playwright August Wilson, working
as his dramaturg on the final plays of Wilson’s “Century Cycle,”
and co-conceived Wilson’s one-man show How I Learned What I
Learned, which Kreidler continued to direct with different actors
after Wilson died in 2005. Kriedler credits Wilson for motiving
him to write, which was Kreidler’s true passion, as scary as it was
to pursue. Kreidler considers himself “privileged” to have had such
a long career grappling with some of the biggest cultural issues
of our times.
Most recently, Kreidler (with co-writer Kenny Leon) took on the
challenge of creating the musical Holler If Ya Hear Me, inspired
by the popular music and lyrics of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.
The musical ran on Broadway in the summer of 2014. Kreidler has
chosen to pursue these projects in the theatre because it gives the
audience more “access” to the characters than in film or television
and allows him to carry out a conversation with his audiences.
QUESTIONS:
1. Do you think Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner makes a better
play than a film? What are the advantages or disadvantages of
each format?
2. How is this story relevant for a student audience in 2014? What
other civil rights issues are important to young people today?
MALCOLM-JAMAL
WARNER AND
“THE COSBY SHOW”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner plays Dr.
John Prentice in this season’s
production of Guess Who’s
Coming to Dinner. He previously
played the same role at Arena
Stage in Washington, DC and
received accolades for his
performance, including the MD
Theatre Guide Readers’ Choice
Award for Best Performance by
Lead Actor in a Play.
Warner is best known for
portraying Theo Huxtable on the legendary NBC television
sitcom “The Cosby Show.” The show, which was produced and
broadcast from 1984 to 1992, focused on the lives of an uppermiddle class black family living in Brooklyn, New York. Bill Cosby,
a popular stand-up comedian, played the role of Cliff Huxtable,
an obstetrician and father of five. His wife, Clair, worked as an
attorney. Warner played their only son. The show’s producers
believed that Cosby’s stand-up comedy routine would provide
perfect material for a family sitcom, and they were right. Ranked
#1 in the Nielsen Ratings for five consecutive seasons, “The Cosby
Show” revitalized the entire sitcom genre and paved the way for
other shows with primarily black casts (e.g., “The Fresh Prince of
Bel Air,” “In Living Color”) and shows based on stand-up comedy
routines (e.g., “Roseanne,” “Seinfeld”).
Cosby used the show to explore, in humorous and positive ways,
the everyday issues that American families face. Although the
show did not deal exclusively with African-American issues,
Cosby did share many aspects of African-American culture with
his audience including guest appearances by famous musicians
or discussions about acclaimed black colleges. Critics of the
show suggested that it was so positive that it risked leaving the
misimpression that racial inequality and poverty within black
communities had all but been resolved. But, to its defenders,
the show was a success in breaking down racial barriers. The
Cosby family was loved by all who watched, regardless of race or
socioeconomic background.
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
5
Angeles, CA in 1997 by a member of a racially hostile gang member
came as a horrifying shock to many across the country who felt a
connection to both the real-life and fictionalized Cosby families.
After “The Cosby Show” went off the air, Warner went on to gueststar in various television programs, including the Cosby spin-off
“A Different World” as well as “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” He has
won a variety of awards for acting and directing, is a spoken-word
performer, and has participated in various roles at the National
Black Theatre Festival over the last decade. He played Dr. Alex
Reed on “Reed Between the Lines,” which aired in 2011 , and is
currently on “Major Crimes” on TNT.
*An interesting side-note (pointed out by Christopher Henley in his
DC Theatre Scene article in December of 2013): the ties between
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and the Cosby franchise date back
to the original film. Mary Prentice was played by Beah Richards,
who received an Academy Award nomination for her performance.
She later played Cosby’s mother on “The Cosby Show.”
Bill Cosby and Malcolm-Jamal
Warner on “The Cosby Show”
The fictional Cosby family sometimes served as a stand-in for
Cosby’s real family, and the viewing audience’s love for the
characters they saw on television transferred at times to the actual
Cosbys. One of the more serious storylines depicted Warner’s
character Theo’s battle with dyslexia, and was inspired by the
real-life struggles of Cosby’s own son, Ennis. Ennis’s murder in Los
QUESTIONS:
1. Continue your research on Malcolm-Jamal Warner and “The
Cosby Show.” In what ways was “The Cosby Show”revolutionary?
2. What career and personal events in Warner’s life might have
helped prepare him for the role of Dr. John Prentice?
3. Are there benefits to casting a famous television or movie
actor in a play?
RELATED WORKS & RESOURCES
To broaden your familiarity with Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and the world of the play, please consider the following list of
further reading. These texts were also used in research for this guide.
Bernstein, Judith. When The Bough Breaks: Forever After the Death of a Son or Daughter. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1998.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance. The Domino Project, special edition 2011.
Fuller, Linda. The Cosby Show: Audiences, Impact, and Implications. Praeger, 1992.
Harris-Perry, Melissa. Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America. Yale University Press, 2013.
Margolick, David. Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink. Vintage: reprint edition, 1986.
Mason, Gilbert. Beaches, Blood, and Ballots: A Black Doctor’s Civil Rights Struggle. University Press of Mississippi, 2012.
Obama, Barack. Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. Broadway Books, 2004.
Soloman, Andrew. Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity. Scribner, 2013.
Warner, Malcolm-Jamal. Theo and Me: Growing Up OK. Dutton Adult, 1998.
Wilson, August. Fences. Plume, 1986.
6
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
THEMES FOR WRITING
AND DISCUSSION
LOVE CONQUERS ALL
At its heart, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is a love story. It is
obvious to everyone around them that John and Joanna are simply
in love. They want to build a life together and they don’t have a
minute to lose. Like all relationships, theirs will face challenges.
But unlike many other couples, they will have to navigate these
challenges under public scrutiny, not just in the privacy of their
own home. For this reason, Monsignor Ryan, an unexpected ally of
John and Joanna in this family debate, suggests that he’s familiar
with a “good many marriages between races” and that they
“usually [work] out well,” likely as a result that “it requires a special
quality of effort, more consideration and compassion than most
marriages seem to generate these days.”
One of the most serious challenges that John and Joanna face
comes from their own parents. John’s father speaks of practical
concerns. His son has achieved a high level of success in the field
of medicine, and he doesn’t want to see John “throw it all away”
on a controversial marriage. Joanna’s father is even more fearful,
saying “you cross the wrong country line…” The late 1960s were
not free from racial discrimination and violence against AfricanAmericans by those who opposed the Civil Rights Movement.
Joanna’s father is worried that his daughter will be put in a
dangerous position by marrying a black man. He laments to his
wife, “You’re thinking in terms of Joey’s happiness and I’m thinking
in terms of her welfare.”
It is a speech by Joanna’s father that turns the conversation, in
which he says that the claim (made by John’s mother) that he
cannot remember what it’s like to be in love is “the first statement
anybody’s made to me all day on which I’m prepared to take
issue.” It is through his memory of his own young love for his wife
that he comes to recognize that John and Joanna’s love will be
strong enough to see them through the struggles ahead. In fact, it
is “everything.”
QUESTIONS:
1. Should practical concerns, such as religion, money, and ethnicity
ever play a part in deciding who to marry? Or are these
antiquated ideas?
2. Do you think John was right to seek the approval of Joanna’s
parents? Why or why not?
Malcolm-Jamal Warner and
Bethany Anne Lind in Guess
Who’s Coming to Dinner at
Arena Stage.
TERESA WOOD
Joanna insists on pushing the issue forward with both sets of
parents. In a moment of passion, perhaps mistaking her father’s
over-protective stance for racism, she cries, “I don’t know what’s
worse… That you’re a phony or that you’re a bigot!” John, in
contrast, is more reserved and reveals how deeply he understands
the intensity of the challenges facing them by promising to honor
Joanna’s parents’ approval or rejection of the relationship.
3. Is it important to you that your parents approve of a person with
whom you are in a romantic relationship? Will it be important
that they approve of the person you ultimately marry?
TIME: FRIEND OR FOE?
“The whole world has changed in less than ten days.” - Christina
John and Joanna are up against a clock: their plane is set to
depart in just a few hours and they need an answer now from
their parents. While they have known each other for the better
part of a year, it was only during the final ten days of Joanna’s
internship that their relationship emerged — and now they want to
be together forever. Joanna’s father, upon hearing of their desire to
marry quickly, replies: “What the hell’s the rush?” Joanna answers:
“We know we want to get married. We don’t need any more time
to decide. And being apart even two weeks is too long. John and
I aren’t going to change our minds.” Her father can only muster, “I
need time.”
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
7
Both families are keenly aware that life is short and that each
moment is important. Joanna’s parents lost their only son (her
brother), and John lost his first wife and son. So they can at least
understand the intense desire on the part of John and Joanna not
to miss one second of their lives together, even as they struggle to
accept it. Nevertheless, in the face of such a momentous decision,
their parents desire the exact opposite: more time to consider the
situation and sort out their personal feelings. This same dynamic
often occurs at a societal level. The group that pushes for social
change wants it to arrive immediately, whereas those who oppose
the change, or who are uncertain about it, seek delay. What is too
slow for one group is too fast for the other.
It may be, however, that time is on everyone’s side. As society
changes and becomes more tolerant of interracial marriage,
the challenges that John and Joanna face, and that worry their
parents, may subside. And as they spend more time together,
their parents may get over any initial “shock” and become more
comfortable with Joanna and John’s relationship. It is not hard to
imagine that, looking back years later, they would each agree that
time heals all wounds.
QUESTIONS:
1. Was it fair of Joanna to thrust her engagement on her parents?
Do you think the time pressure was real?
2. What do you think Joanna’s father would have ultimately
decided if he was given as much time as he wanted to think
about the situation? Do you think his reaction would have been
different if John had been a white man?
TOLERANCE VS. ACCEPTANCE
John and Joanna want a “blessing” on their marriage; in fact
John refuses to move forward with the relationship without one.
He believes that a fight between Joanna and her parents would
be too much for Joanna or him to bear. And John doesn’t simply
want a superficial or tacit understanding. Joanna’s father laments
that John expects him not only to approve the marriage, but to be
“happy” about it.
John doesn’t doubt that Joanna’s parents are enlightened
people and will not tolerate bigotry and hatred. Indeed, Christina
provides a stark example of this point during the play, firing her
most senior employee, Hillary, for expressing intolerant views
about interracial relationships. Nevertheless, John believes that
their tolerance has limits. He says to Joanna, “I believe your
father would happily support the idea of a mixed couple featured
front page of his newspaper. But when the idea appears in the
flesh in his home and that flesh wants to marry his daughter, your
father pulls out his editing knife.” It is not enough to support
the idea in the abstract, but such principles need to translate
personally into one’s own life.
This demand for personal acceptance, not merely tolerance, is at
the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. For example, in recent
years, the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community
has pushed for the right to same-sex marriage and full legal
equality, as opposed to civil unions that offer some degree of legal
tolerance without full equality. To date, 19 states allow same-sex
8
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
marriage, as do the District of Columbia and eight Native American
tribal jurisdictions. President Barack Obama was the first sitting
president to outwardly voice his support for the legalization of
same-sex marriage, and popular opinion continues to swing in
favor of marriage equality. Massachusetts was the first state to
legalize gay marriage in 2004.
Recent research confirms the importance of acceptance in
overcoming our differences. Andrew Solomon’s book Far from
the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity is a
close examination of parents who have children with unusual
characteristics. He concludes that these parents must shift
their expectations in order to help their child become his or
her best self. Ultimately, John and Joanna’s parents grasp this
truth. Although not without trepidation or concern, they put
their children’s hearts and desires before their fear of the world,
and before their previous expectations. They choose to accept
John and Joanna and the love they have for each other without
prejudice.
QUESTIONS:
1. What role does art have in transforming societal attitudes from
mere tolerance to personal acceptance?
2. Research audience reaction to the film of Guess Who’s
Coming to Dinner. How did it play a role in transforming societal
attitudes toward interracial marriage in the late 1960s? What
impact do you think the play will have on today’s audiences?
3. Can you think of other examples of films, plays, or television
shows that have helped to change society for the better?
MASTERY ASSESSMENT
ACT ONE
SCENE ONE
1. Describe the setting of the play.
2. What business are Christina and Hillary conducting? Who is
their lunch guest and why is this person important?
3. What does Hillary want to show the lunch guest? What
does Christina ultimately choose to display? Why is Hillary
impressed by Mr. Cazalet?
4. What is Tillie’s relationship to the Draytons? How does Tillie
respond to her excitement?
22. What is Monsignor Ryan’s opinion of a marriage between
John and Joey? Make an inference about Tillie’s opinion.
23. How does Monsignor Ryan react to Matt’s hesitation
regarding his daughter’s engagement?
24. What is Hillary’s idea with regard to Joanna and John’s
situation?
25. How does Hillary and Christina’s conversation end?
In your opinion, who is out of line?
SCENE THREE
5. How do Matt and Mr. Cazalet differ with regard to their
political views?
26. Why are Matt and Christina upset about the timing
change in Joanna’s plans?
6. Describe the work arrangement to which Matt and
Christina have agreed. According to Christina, why is this
necessary?
27. Does Matt seem like a champion of civil rights?
7. Joanna’s arrival is unexpected. Who is with her? Why is this
situation shocking?
8. Does John like Joanna’s home? Use an example to support
your answer.
9. Joanna suffered a tremendous loss. Who did she lose and
how did her mother respond?
28. How does Christina feel about Matt’s disapproval of
Joanna’s situation?
29. So…who is coming to dinner?!
30. Infer what John is feeling after hearing Joanna’s surprise.
ACT TWO
SCENE ONE
11. When did Joanna know she had romantic feelings
for John?
31. Upon meeting the Draytons and recognizing what is
happening, how do John’s parents react to the news of
their son’s relationship?
12. How did John tell his own parents about his new
relationship with Joanna?
32. What does John believe is the major difference between
the way he and his father see the world?
10. Why is Tillie upset about Joanna’s guest?
13. Why did Matt come home in a panic?
14. What is the important question that John puts to Matt
upon meeting him?
15. Explain the rush facing the new couple and their desire to
have parental approval?
16. What did Matt find next to his telephone and what does he
make of it?
17. What secret does John share with Joanna’s parents about
his plans?
SCENE TWO
18. John and Matt make a connection during the discussion
of what event in sports history?
19. What are Matt’s reservations about John and Joey
marrying?
20. How does Monsignor Ryan know John?
21. What surprise does Joanna throw at Tillie regarding the
dinner?
SCENE TWO
33. Why does the nickname Joey bother Joanna?
34. How does Tillie describe Matt to John?
35. Describe the circumstances under which John’s previous
marriage ended.
36. Does Mary approve of John and Joanna’s relationship?
Is she conflicted?
37. What decision does Matt ultimately make about Joanna
and John’s marriage?
38. At the play’s conclusion, who is present at the dinner table?
EXTRA CREDIT:
Find the magic page on which the line “Guess who’s coming to
dinner” can be found. Who is speaking? Who is coming? This
phrase has become part of our vernacular and often heard in
everyday conversation. How do you feel when you hear those
words in your own life?
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
9
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION
THE FILM
THE POLITICS
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner began its journey nearly 50 years
ago as a groundbreaking film. It boasted an all-star cast, significant
achievements in artistic and technical design, and was under the care
and direction of some of Hollywood’s greatest talents. But what truly
set it apart was its beautiful portrayal of a once highly controversial
topic: interracial marriage. The iconic movie poster read “a love
story of today” — and indeed it was. In many ways, though, it was
also a love story for tomorrow, which challenged its audiences to
advance further and faster toward the goal of racial equality. Now
the film is being reborn on the stage, giving today’s audiences a new
opportunity to engage with a classic story and to reflect both on how
far we have advanced as a society, and how far we have yet to go.
Just six months before the film premiered in 1967, the United States
Supreme Court ruled that laws prohibiting interracial marriage,
known as anti-miscegenation laws, were unconstitutional. At the
time, more than one-third of the states had such laws. The name of
the case was Loving v. Virginia, and the date of the Supreme Court’s
ruling (June 12) is now celebrated each year as “Loving Day.”
The film’s cast featured one of Hollywood’s most accomplished
acting pairs: Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Over the course
of their storied careers, they acted opposite each other in nine films.
Sadly, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was their last, as Tracy, whose
health deteriorated rapidly during its production, passed away only
weeks after filming ended. Hepburn was so emotionally distraught
by his death that she could not watch the film after it opened. She
was honored the following year with the Academy Award for Best
Actress for her portrayal of Christina Drayton.
The film’s cast also included Sidney Poitier, a well-known actor
and Academy Award winner in his own right. Poitier was in awe
of Hepburn and Tracy, and somewhat intimidated to be acting
alongside them, but he quickly earned their mutual respect and
admiration. Poitier also enjoyed the strong support of the film’s
director and producer, Stanley Kramer. Given the subject matter of
the film, and the surrounding political climate, those close to Poitier
believe that he may have felt tremendous pressure while working
on the film. He delivered under pressure with a commanding and
moving performance.
Those making Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner faced financial and
personal risks. It was anticipated that only a limited audience would
be interested in the film and those close to the production feared
it might incite a firestorm of controversy. And yet it proved to be a
great success, grossing $70 million worldwide (despite a modest
$4 million production budget) and garnering critical acclaim. It
continues to be a favorite film with fans across gender, racial, and
generational lines.
QUESTIONS:
1. Research the critical response to the film, Guess Who’s Coming
to Dinner. Were the reviews positive or negative? Did audiences
agree or disagree with the critics?
2. Research the careers of actors Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracey, and
Katharine Hepburn. What other roles are they known for playing?
3. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was the basis of the 2005 film
Guess Who starring Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher. Compare and
contrast the two films.
10
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
Mildred Loving, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man,
learned that they were expecting a baby when Mildred was 18 years
old. Because interracial marriage was illegal at the time in the state of
Virginia, Mildred and Richard went to Washington, DC to make their
marriage official. But the local police in their hometown forced their
way into the Lovings’ house in the middle of the night and arrested
them for violating Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws. They were
convicted and ultimately sentenced to one year in prison, suspended
for 25 years on the condition that they moved out of state. They
relocated to Washington, DC but eventually found that this situation
was impractical as their friends, family, and careers were in Virginia. The
Lovings took their case to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),
which filed a lawsuit that went all the way to the Supreme Court.
QUESTIONS:
1. Research legislation that focused on keeping the races separate.
What context did these laws apply to? How were they eventually
overturned?
2. What laws exist regarding marriage today? Consider both state
and national laws. What movements currently exist to change
marriage laws?
RALPH WALDO EMERSON &
TRANSCENDENTALIST THINKING
Joanna refers to her mother as a “matchmaker” bringing art and a
prospective buyer together. When John asks if she’s ever tried to
find Joanna a “match,” she replies, “Never. I was raised on Ralph
Waldo Emerson. Self-reliance.” Joanna is indeed self-reliant, with a
strong belief system and an uncommon ability to disregard societal
expectations. Throughout the play, Joanna is disinterested in
everyone else’s opinion regarding her engagement and thoroughly
disappointed in anyone, such as Tillie and her father, who gives the
slightest hint of backing away from their principles. As a character,
she could be criticized as one-dimensional, naïve, or oblivious. But
from the standpoint of a transcendentalist thinker like Emerson,
she is nobly following the dictates of her own mind without care of
conforming to the culture surrounding her.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston in 1803 and was destined
to become one of the greatest philosophers and essayists of the
19th century. Emerson graduated from Boston Latin and went on to
study at Harvard University. Following in the footsteps of his father
and brother, who were both ministers, Emerson eventually decided
to seek an advanced degree from the Harvard Divinity School. As
a minister, Emerson was able to think, write, and philosophize for a
Sydney Poitier, Katharine Houghton,
and Spencer Tracy in the film Guess
Who’s Coming to Dinner
Mildred and Richard Loving
career. But his deep analysis sent him down a path that, to many,
made him a radical thinker in religion and politics. His speech at the
Harvard Divinity School commencement in 1838 called into question
the many miracles of the Bible, the divinity of Jesus Christ, and
other fundamental principles of the Christian religion. Emerson never
responded to the outrage or his denouncement, as presumably
he was now an atheist with sacrilegious views. Rather, he waited
patiently until he was invited to speak again — 30 years later.
While Emerson never subscribed to a particular philosophical
doctrine, he held steady to several viewpoints that remained the
foundation of the Transcendentalist movement. He believed that
God, and therefore the truth, could be found in nature and because
“all things are connected …all things are divine.” Human beings
must trust themselves and not conform to the standards of society
because “society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood
of every one of its members.” And he believed that “nothing can
bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the
triumph of principles.” The brave Transcendentalist movement of
New England fought for the abolishment of slavery (Emerson wrote:
“I think we must get rid of slavery or we must get rid of freedom”)
and equal rights for women. Joanna would have almost certainly
joined Emerson’s inner circle if given the chance.
Joe Louis vs Max Schmeling
and Germany’s Max Schmeling in 1938. As a young reporter covering
the fight, Matt observed, “You couldn’t find a single true American—
no matter what color — who didn’t love Joe Louis.”
As political tensions mounted between the United States and
Germany in 1938, Louis and Schmeling arranged a rematch of
their original bout, which Schmeling had won. Louis spent much
of his time leading up to their first fight playing golf and minimally
training, but prepared for the rematch with victory on his mind. After
such a difficult first fight that lasted twelve rounds, most avid boxing
fans were uncertain of the outcome. Matt remarks, “Max Schmeling
looked giant. Hitler’s great Aryan. That night the devil wore purple
trunks… Everybody knew war was coming soon. Joe Louis fought
for America that night.” The fight was over in two minutes and four
seconds. Louis threw 41 punches. Schmeling threw two.
For Matt, the symbolism of the entire event, from the bell sounding
to the cheering and pandemonium in the streets, carried the
promise of a brighter future for America. Everyone could see that an
enemy like Hitler, who represented the most deplorable type of hate
and ignorance, must be beaten. Blacks and white came together for
this fight. And the defeat of Max Schmeling proved that there was
no “superior” Aryan race. A black man from the United States was in
fact the strongest man in the world.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is your personal philosophy? By what doctrine do you live?
2. Do you think it was inevitable that slavery would end or that
women would be given the right to vote? What struggles in
equality for all human beings do we currently face, in this country
and around the world?
3. Continue your research of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Do you fully
agree with his philosophy or can you identify any inconsistencies
or pitfalls in his thinking?
JOE LOUIS VS. MAX SCHMELING:
MEN GREATER THAN THE LEGEND
Matt wants to be perceived as a champion of civil rights and
someone who has dedicated his life to journalism “to take up
[the] fight through the newspaper. Fight the fascism that breeds
here.” It is especially important to Matt that John does not confuse
his hesitation about the marriage as covert racism. To illustrate
his desire for a unified country, Matt recounts one of the most
important moments in sports history: the boxing rematch for the
world champion heavyweight title, between American Joe Louis
But, as with all historical events, there are two, or maybe many,
sides to this story. John is skeptical that Joe Louis was truly
regarded as a great American hero. He remarks, “America forgot
all about Joe Louis. Left him in the desert. Now he’s a doorman
in Vegas.” And when Matt asserts that Louis was “fighting for all
Americans,” John retorts, “the Brown Bomber was fighting for us.”
To the black community, Louis represented hope, the belief that it
was possible to succeed in a white man’s world.
During his childhood, Louis did not seem a likely candidate for
fame. He was born in rural Alabama, one of eight children, and the
grandchild of former slaves. After a terrifying run in with the Ku Klux
Klan, his family migrated to Detroit, Michigan. His mother scrimped
and saved to pay for violin lessons costing 25 cents per week. Louis
instead spent the money at the gym, training to box. His efforts paid
off as he became the most successful boxer in history, defending the
heavyweight championship title 13 times in less than three years.
The belief of many in the boxing community was that Louis was
invincible, unbeatable. But because of the attack on Pearl Harbor
during WWII, Louis’s boxing career got sidetracked. He donated his
“purses” or winnings to the war effort and enlisted in military service
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
11
(as an entertainer and moral support.) He came out of the war in
debt, primarily with a huge tax burden that would dog him until his
marriage to Martha Jefferson, a prominent attorney in California, who
would settle the debt with the IRS. But the years he spent trying to
pay his back taxes were humiliating. From competing on game shows
to wrestling, Joe Louis took on whatever job he could find to ease his
overwhelming tax burden. Perhaps once a great American hero, he
became the target of an ongoing IRS investigation.
Close friends and family note that Louis was not equipped to handle
his finances and that “money meant nothing to Joe.” He would dole
out his entire purse from the stadium to the hotel, giving money to
doormen and taxi drivers along the way. To add insult to injury, his later
life was plagued by illicit drug use, mental health issues, and physical
problems. He did, as John points out, become a greeter at Caesars
Palace in Las Vegas in his later years, a job that a friend gave him.
Because so many people loved and cared about the soft-spoken
Joe Louis, they supported him financially and emotionally until the
end of his life. He died of a heart attack near Las Vegas in 1981 after
watching a heavyweight championship fight. Although Louis was
not technically eligible, President Ronald Reagan arranged for him
to be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Part of his funeral expenses were paid for by his most famous
opponent, Max Schmeling.
After victory in the first fight against Louis, Schmeling garnered
celebrity among Germans and even recognition from Adolf Hitler.
He was used in the regime’s propaganda to further the notion of a
“superior race.” The Nazi government publicist who traveled with
Schmeling would release statements to the press suggesting that it
was impossible for Schmeling to lose to a black man and whatever
money he earned would be donated to the war effort.
But Schmeling, symbol to Americans as Hitler’s henchman, was not
a Nazi. He never became a member of the Nazi party. Schmeling
said clearly, “I am a fighter, not a politician. I am no superman in
any way.” In fact, his coach Joe Jacobs was Jewish and Schmeling
refused, even after intense pressure, to fire him. Hitler and other
members of his fascist regime were so afraid that Schmeling would
defect (give up his German citizenship and stay in America) that
Schmeling’s wife and mother were not allowed to travel with him to
the United States for his final fight with Louis. After Schmeling’s loss
to Louis, he was no longer useful to the Nazi propaganda machine
and was ordered to the front lines of the war as a paratrooper. He
had fallen out of favor with Hitler and the Nazi party.
Schmeling remained friends with Louis throughout his life, and even
entered into an agreement with Coca-Cola to bring the soft drink
to Germany (although history shows that while Schmeling got rich
off of this deal, Louis did not). Schmeling visited Louis yearly and
helped him financially until his death. Their great rivalry ended in a
true friendship. And perhaps this fact, two vastly different people
allowed tolerance to turn to friendship, is what Matt is working for at
home and around the world through his newspaper.
QUESTIONS:
1. Consider the play, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and decide who
has it right on Joe Louis’ story: Matt or John. How does each man
perceive Joe Louis? Might there be some truth to both of their
accounts?
12
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
2. A great resource in writing this article was the HBO sports
documentary Joe Louis: America’s Hero Betrayed. For extra credit,
watch this film and reflect upon Joe Louis’ life. Did he pursue any
other hobbies or passions that are of interest to you? What was
his family life like? Do you think he was treated fairly by the US
government? In what ways was he responsible for the difficulties
in his life? What would you have done if you were in his position
after the war?
THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY:
PREDICTED
It seems almost prophetic now when John remarks “[Joanna] says,
all of our children will be President of the United States — and they’ll
have colorful administrations.” The film was released in 1967, only
six years after the child who would become America’s first black
president was born in Hawaii. The dream expressed in the film was
already on its way to becoming a reality.
Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961 to
Stanley Ann Dunham and Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. Dunham,
mainly of English descent, met Obama, a Kenyan, in a Russian class
taught at the University of Hawaii. They were married in Maui the
February before President Obama was born. But the marriage did
not last long, as Dunham separated from Obama and moved with
her infant son to Seattle to study at the University of Washington
while he finished out his undergraduate degree in Hawaii. They were
divorced in 1964.
Like John and Joanna, President Obama’s parents were intelligent
and well-educated people who traveled along non-traditional
paths in life. Obama spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, but
chose to finish high school in Hawaii under the care of his maternal
grandparents. Obama’s father died in a car accident when he was 21
years old. Obama graduated from Columbia University with a degree
in political science and then Harvard Law School, where he served as
president of the Harvard Law Review. His memoir, Dreams From My
Father, was published in 1995.
After years as a community organizer and civil rights attorney,
Obama made his first political bid as state senator in Illinois.
He went on to become a US Senator, and after three years in the
Senate, was elected as the first black president, taking the oath
of office in January 2009. William Rose, the man who wrote the
original screenplay for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, must have
believed that this day would inevitably come.
QUESTIONS:
1. In playwright Oscar Wilde’s 1889 essay “The Decay of Lying”
he writes, “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.”
Do you believe this statement to be true?
2. What parallels can you draw between President Obama’s
upbringing and that which you imagine John and Joanna’s
children would have?
3. How are President Obama’s parents like John and Joanna?
How are they different?
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES: THE BACK STORY
character’s journey. While rehearsing, consider your character’s
backstory. How does truly understanding your character change
the way you think about his/her lines?
Rehearse with a classmate and share your backstories. If you have
chosen the same character, how do the backstories you created
independently differ? Can you both be right? If you have chosen
different characters, do you think that it would be helpful for your
characters in the world of the play to know this information about
each other? Why or why not?
If possible, memorize your monologue before sharing it with the
class.
CHARACTER JOURNEYS
TERESA WOOD
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
in Guess Who’s Coming to
Dinner at Arena Stage.
EXPLORING CHARACTERIZATION
Directions to students: Choose a character from Guess Who’s
Coming to Dinner to portray in a monologue of your choosing. In
order to prepare for the role, consider (but do not feel limited by)
the following areas of consideration:
1. Family life and childhood. What information from the play
provides insight into what my character’s upbringing was like?
Describe the cultural and environmental circumstances. Did I
live with both parents? Did I have siblings? Was I rich or poor?
Where did I live? Imagine an important event in your character’s
life prior to the time depicted in the play and speculate as to
how this event may have influenced your character’s current
objectives.
2. Relationships. With whom do I want to be romantically
involved? What draws me to this person (or people)? Have I
been married or in a serious relationship before? Am I easy
to get along with? What contradictions are inherent in my
character? What pitfalls might prevent a new relationship from
forming?
This exercise should be done BEFORE seeing the play. Students
will use tableaus and pantomime and lines of dialogue to analyze
a particular character’s journey in the story and predict how the
character changes in the course of the play.
1. Divide students into groups of 3-5 and assign each group a
character from Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner OR choose one
character for all the groups to work on. Ask students to begin
by going through the script and selecting one or two lines
from each scene in which the character appears that sum up
that character’s point-of-view or mental/emotional state in the
scene. Each group should end up with at least 6-7 lines.
2. Students should depict the character’s journey from the
beginning of the play to the end by performing each line one
at a time in the order in which they appear in the play. The
performance of each line should include:
• The line being spoken aloud by someone in the group.
• A physical performance of each line through a tableau (frozen
image that tells a story) and/or pantomime (performance with
all movement).
3. To add layers to the character journey performances, students
should feel free to integrate costume pieces, props, and music.
4. After each group shares their work, reflect on the following:
3. Current Status. Where do I live? In an apartment or a house? Do
I have roommates or pets? What is a typical day like for me? Do
I call my mother? Do I eat in or eat out? What are my hobbies?
Who is my best friend? Do I feel financially comfortable or
strapped?
• If all of the groups worked on the same character, compare
and contrast the choices each group made in how they
portrayed this character. Based on these performances, what
do we think this character is like?
4. The World of the Play. What do I want? What are the obstacles
in my way? Does my objective change throughout the course of
the play? How, if at all, do I change from the beginning to the
end of the play? Am I satisfied by the play’s conclusion?
• If the groups each worked on a different character, compare
and contrast the various journeys depicted in the play. Which
characters undergo a similar transformation? How are the
characters beginning and ending views similar or conflicting?
Select a monologue for your character from the play. Choose
a moment from the play that you believe is important to your
• How do the characters change (or not change)? What
predictions can we make about the play?
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
13
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES: THEATRE DESIGN
SOUND
The film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner received an Academy Award nomination for best original score (Frank DeVol) in 1967. In his
adaptation for the stage, Todd Kreidler does not specify any particular musical selections. However, Monsignor Ryan remarks (in both
the film and the play), “Nothing from the Psalms or from Shakespeare comes to mind now but in this case I believe the Beatles say it
best: ‘We can work it out, we can work it out…’”
Consider the lyrics below or even better listen to the song (at youtube.com/watch?v=3jlXnQEgbuw). Answer the questions that follow
the printed lyrics below.
Beatles – “We Can Work it Out” (1965)
Try to see it my way
Do I have to keep on talking till I can’t go on?
While you see it your way
Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone
We can work it out
We can work it out
Think of what you’re saying
You can get it wrong and still you think that it’s alright
Think of what I’m saying
We can work it out and get it straight, or say good night
We can work it out
We can work it out
Life is very short, and there’s no time
For fussing and fighting, my friend
I have always thought that it’s a crime
So I will ask you once again
The Beatles, clockwise from top
left: Ringo Starr, George Harrison,
Paul McCartney, and John Lennon
Try to see it my way
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
While you see it your way
There’s a chance that we may fall apart before too long
We can work it out
We can work it out
This song’s composition required a group effort, according to the legendary Beatle, Paul McCartney. He claimed that in writing the lyrics
there was a tension between his optimism and John Lennon’s practicality. Upon reflection, McCartney realized that this song was not
simply a catchy or superficial piece, but (whether intended or not) carried a deeper message.
Analyze:
• Do you think this song choice is appropriate for this play?
• In what way, if at all, do the lyrics capture the conflict in the Drayton household?
• Who are the characters for which this song best applies?
Design a sound design for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Make music selections at least for the play’s opening, at the end of Act One,
the beginning of Act Two, and the play’s conclusion. Share your sound plan with your class and be prepared to defend your choices!
14
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES: ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
THEATRICAL APPROACHES TO ADAPTATION
INTERVIEW
The script used in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production
of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was adapted by playwright
Todd Kreidler from the 1967 film’s screenplay. Begin adapting a
classroom text, such as a short story or chapter from a novel, for
the stage by considering the following:
JOANNA: Well, imagine if this were a hundred years ago.
• What are the major events in this text? If we were to put on
a performance of the text, which events are critical for telling
the story?
• Which moments lend themselves best to theatrical
performance?
Use this whole-class discussion to create an outline of the major
events in the text.
Next, divide students into the same number of groups as major
events, and assign an event to each group. Each group should
refer back to the text for close reading and analysis of their major
event to determine:
• What are the smaller moments that compose this major
event? Which are the most important?
Each group should create an outline of the individual moments in
their assigned event.
Members of the group should get on their feet to improvise a
short scene that depicts their major event. Other members of
the group will watch carefully and direct the performance to
ensure that all of the individual moments the group identified are
included, while others take notes to document the improvisation.
The entire group should then work together to create a
storyboard or script for the scene based on the improvisation.
JOHN: Your father would’ve rounded up his friends and went
looking for a rope.
From the legal system to local communities, cultural perspective
continues to evolve. In this exercise, students will ask members of
previous generations about how times have changed.
Directions to Students: Choose three people older than you to
interview starting with a parent (or someone your parents’ age). The
other two interviewees should be at least 15 years older than your
parent and years apart in age from each other in order to document
a variety of perspectives from throughout the past fifty years. You
will be looking at societal differences with regard to equality in the
United States. Create a list of interview questions before you meet
with your interviewees. Be sure to include questions about how, if at
all, their personal opinions have changed throughout their lives and
what they believe is the cause for that change. Use the chart below
to guide your questions and strategy for the interview. With regard
to equality in the United States, what is the most remarkable change
your interviewee has experienced first-hand?
Once the three interviews are complete, fill in the following chart
using the information you have gathered. Share your findings with
the class and pay particular attention to the interviews with people
the same age as your subjects. Were their responses similar? Did
the location where they were living influence their responses?
As a class, create a list of most interesting responses during the
interview process. As the interviewer, did you learn anything new?
Do you think the race, gender, religion or any other characteristic
should have been noted? Why or why not?
Interview #1: Name/Age
Workshop these rough scenes by performing them or reading
them aloud in front of the entire class. After each scene is shared,
the class should comment on:
• What they thought was strong about the scene.
• Any weaknesses in the scene.
Interview #2: Name/Age
Interview #3: Name/Age
Geographical location(s):
• Suggestions for revision.
Ask groups to reconvene to revise their scenes, paying close
attention to integrating lines pulled directly out of the text.
Repeat this process as many times as needed. Remind students,
especially in the early stages, to review the text carefully and stay
truthful to the tone of the text.
Cultural Norms
Legal Rules
Changes Over Time*
Minority
Rights
Women’s
Rights
Gay
Rights
*In discussing these changes, note which came first: cultural
change or legal change?
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER CURRICULUM GUIDE
15
LE UM 12
SH MA
EBA R.
MA 13 &
R.1 AP
6 R.2
SEP
201
4-2
GU 01
ETH ESS 5 S
AW ER WH TU
TH AKE DO O’ DE
TH E SE AN ME S C NT
CO E CO CO D S OC OM M
ME LO ND IN T.3 ING A
BA RE GIR G! N 0 & TO TIN
CK D M L OV N DI EE
, LI US JAN .14 OV. NN S
TT E .
20 ER
T.17
UN
IVE
RS
ITY
4
BO HU
ST N T I
O NG
N
, M TO
A NA
02 V
11 EN
546 UE
06
26
IN
RES
IDE
NC
EA
TB
OS
TON