On Oct. 30, Saint Xavier University and the Center for Religion and Public Discourse hosted a play entitled Defamation at McGuire Hall.
The Center for Religion and Public Discourse is the sponsor of the Squeaky Weal Lecture Series, which promotes thoughtful consideration and civil discourse on the religious, moral and/or ethical implications of public issues, with a consistent focus on the common good.
“Originally, I thought it was going to be a more typical play, and when I learned more about what it was going to be, with the jury and everything, I was kind of close-minded to it. But I kind of liked the idea as it was going on. It felt like a real courtroom case,” freshman Zipporah Allbritton said.
Defamation, an original courtroom drama by Chicago playwright Todd Logan, is a presentation that explores heavily on the issues of race, religion and class.
“I really enjoyed it,” said freshman Lauren Gonzales. “I thought it was a very creative way to show the issues that they showed, especially since people think racism is something that we don’t face anymore. It gave us new insight on how the problem still exists, and I think students will respond to the way it was presented.”
The setting is a Chicago courtroom in 2012. It opens with Judge Adrian Barnes (Robert Riley) describing the civil case: the plaintiff is Ms. Wade (Stacie Doublin), a professional black woman from the South Side, is suing the defendant Mr. Golden (Richard Shavzin), a successful Jewish businessman from the North Shore, for defamation.
Ms. Wade was at Mr. Golden’s house to discuss a potential business project. After the meeting, when Ms. Wade had already left, Mr. Golden finds that his family heirloom watch is missing and accuses Ms. Wade of stealing it.
Ms. Wade later on sued Mr. Golden for defamation, claiming that his accusations caused her to lose twenty percent of her business.
In order for Ms. Wade to win the case, she must prove both: That a false statement was made about her to a third party, and that she was damaged financially as a direct result of that false statement.
Each side presented their stories, being questioned by the plaintiff’s lawyer Mr. Lawton (Jonathan Stutzman) and the defendant’s lawyer Ms. Allen (Kimm Beavers). The trial runs 70 minutes. Once each side gave their testimony, the judge then delivered a twist to the case: the audience is the jury that will settle the suit.
The audience was polled right away following the play, voting for either in favor of the plaintiff, the defendant, or if they were undecided.
The judge then opened up a 15 minute deliberation, in which the audience members were able to discuss their reasons for choosing the side that they chose, or why they didn’t choose at all.
Following the deliberation, the judge then polled the audience a second time, but this time without the option of choosing undecided.
The final verdict was in the favor of the plaintiff, Ms. Wade.
“I thought it was really enlightening and it gave new perspectives to the opportunities that we actually hold at the school,” Allbritton said.
Defamation has been performed for high schools, universities, law schools, civic and religious organizations, and theatres across the country over 145 times and has been seen by over 22,500 people.
Gisselle Lopez
News Editor