NEW YORK—Press notes point out that “Head of Passes” is “a contemporary parable inspired by the Book of Job.” As written by playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney (winner of numerous theatrical and literary awards, including the coveted MacArthur “Genius” Grant), the work is tremendously complex.
The play title refers to the area where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico. The action of the play takes place in a home near this point. The house, once respectable if not elegant, has fallen into severe disrepair. But its remnants remain, under the stewardship of the owner, Shelah (Phylicia Rashad), who refuses to leave it.
Rashad executes a tour-de-force performance.