A pair of saxophones belt soothing jazz as the audience enters the Curtain Theatre; the lights are set to a deep blue with a warm feeling to them. As the music ends, the lights dim and the crowd begins to quiet, some movement is seen in the darkness on stage.

The lights come back on, and the crowd lets out a collective gasp. A man in blackface and a ragged suit is seen at the top of the balcony. This is the beginning of “Unfinished Women Cry in No Man’s Land While a Caged Bird Dies in a Gilded Cage,” the most recent production by the University of Massachusetts Amherst theater department.

The play tells a tale of two stories intertwined in theme and complexity. One tale tells the story of Charlie Parker Jr, also known as “The Bird,” played by Gilbert McCauley, on the day of his death as he declines in health and spirit. The other tells the story of five women in the Hide-A-Wee Home for Unwed Mothers on the day they decide whether to give up their babies or keep them.

Written by Aishah Rahman and directed by Judyie Ella Al-Bilali, the play was put together in just 20 days, adding to the existing trouble facing the production.

“There was a completely different set design, which I changed,” Al-Bilali said. “I had to come in and make some very fast executive decisions. We lost an actor the second week. We had no more budget, so we had to make some really frugal, wise decisions.”

She also noted that her biggest motivation for taking on the role of director was that the actor originally set to play Parker was lost, which led to her offering to direct if her longtime friend, McCauley, would play Parker. “I said, if [McCauley] play[s] Charlie Parker, I’ll direct. That’s how it happened,” Al-Bilali said.

Charlie Chan, played by Brandon Rodriguez, serves as a narrator and alter-ego of Parker, often narrating the show or miming the characters’ words. He was the character at the top of the show in blackface, which he kept throughout the show.

“Charlie Chan’s costume was a worn-down suit, and he was a bit dirtier compared to the real Charlie Parker but it was because that is how Parker saw himself,” Victoria Tibets, who worked on wardrobe during the show, said. She added that the costumes “captured the essence of these characters.”

Throughout the show, Chan also interacts with a grandfather clock that was placed at the back of the stage in between the two sections, manipulating time and showcasing a deeper struggle that the characters face throughout the play. His performance was brilliant and he was able to fully capture his intentions and inner conflicts.

Wilma, played by Tahmie Der, is a standout performer with powerful singing and an imposing stage presence. Her portrayal of a woman torn between keeping her baby and giving it up is both heart-wrenching and compelling, demanding the attention of the audience at every moment.

She expresses deep appreciation for Parker’s music, and she shares her belief that Parker lives on in her womb. “He’s not dead. Bird lives … Inside here. Bird’s alive … Oh yes, he’s alive,” she muses as the play nears the finale.

Paulette, played by Danielle Desir, presents herself early on as having already made up her mind to give up her baby. The audience later learns that she is just as conflicted as the others and is trying to balance the expectations of her parents and her own desires.

When describing her upbringing, she claims she is the only one whose family expects something from her, and it seems that she might be from a well-to-do family. She describes wanting to be free from her father, and that keeping her baby would allow this.

She frequently spars with Midge, played by Lindsay Forauer, over her perceived “privilege.” It’s not until later in the show that it is revealed that Midge is carrying a mixed-race baby and believes she will not enjoy any privilege once it is born. It’s likely because of this that Midge suggests the possibility of having an abortion.

When Midge suggests having an abortion, Consuelo, played by Julia Alo, declares that “it’s a sin to even talk that way.” Consuelo is described as a Castilian Puerto Rican, which is reflected in how her character acts throughout the show. She is the only mother to have already given birth, and her baby often interrupts her scenes through the cry of the saxophone.

It is during one of these interruptions that Consuelo describes reading about mothers who kill their babies, eventually suggesting she will kill her baby. She quickly corrects herself, saying that she loves her baby.

Mattie, played by Abbi May Andrews, was a wonderfully complex character with many layers to her personality.

“She is a spitfire and a fighter, yet as joyous and playful as the other girls around her,” Andrews, a freshman dual degree in English and Theater, wrote. “She understands more than a girl so young should ever have to. This creates an interesting dynamic between Mattie and the other girls, because she is both overly knowledgeable and youthfully naïve.”

Andrews was one of the only cast members to have not auditioned. Instead, she was approached by the production team to read the lines as a replacement.

Nurse Jacobs, played by Malissa Boone, provides a stern yet caring presence, trying her best to keep the mothers in line and out of trouble. Her character’s strict demeanor is balanced by moments of vulnerability, particularly when she reveals her own experiences with love and loss.

This duality in her character adds depth to the narrative, showing that even those who
appear rigid and unyielding have their own stories of pain and resilience.

Throughout the play, Parker is seen in his slow descent towards death, although he doesn’t want help from any of the doctors that Pasha, played by Ana Wood, is offering to call. At this stage in his life, he only wants a woman who loves him, which he believes he has found in Pasha.

He does have a wife, but he alludes to the fact that she is not in the picture anymore. Despite his desire for love, he repeatedly turns down Pasha’s advances and efforts for him to give her a child.

Pasha wishes to carry his child to satisfy her desire to “be a part of him,” and makes multiple efforts to make him grant her this wish. “Pasha is based on a woman, the Baroness, Nica, who is very, very wealthy,” Al-Bilali said. “She was (part) of the Rothschild family and went against her background and became a very important figure in the jazz world as a benefactor.”

As the play progresses, the tension among the characters builds, leading to a powerful and emotional climax. The final scenes are a cacophony of emotions, with all characters reaching a climax of yelling, crying and singing. Wilma plays an important role in the ending, with her last line, “I wish I could sing,” closing out the cacophony.

“Our director had asked me why I even say that because I sing in the show,” Der wrote. “I had always thought that the phrase never directly meant that she wished she could sing but more that she wished she could be more than what she is currently. I had always thought Wilma would grow up to be an artist as her character was heavily inspired by the playwright herself. Wilma wishes she could tell her story beyond the confines of her place in society.”

All the while, Parker Jr.’s decline is portrayed with raw intensity, culminating in his death. The lights slowly fade out, leaving only a sliver of light on the grandfather clock as Charlie Chan begins to speak: “While unfinished women cry in no man’s land/ The Bird dies in a gilded cage/ Could a baby’s cry/ Be Bird’s musical notes/ That hang in the air…forever?”

The lights fade completely, and the audience is left in darkness. Silence rules the airwaves for a while, as the audience processes the events of the show. Then the lights come back on, and the audience erupts into a standing ovation as the cast bows onstage.

“Unfinished Women Cry in No Man’s Land While a Caged Bird Dies in a Gilded Cage” is a true wonder to watch and undoubtedly left a lasting impact on the audience. The play weaves a tapestry of storytelling and brilliantly explores themes of personal identity, freedom, and the turmoil that was faced by mothers in this position.

“Unfinished Women … tells stories that have gone untold for so long — unwed mothers, struggling artists, the ways that Black people have had to fight in American society — and the impact that hearing can have is insurmountable,” Andrews said.

In the words of many of those interviewed, “Bird lives.”

Dylan Podlinski can be reached at [email protected]