musical numbers
I'm Professor Chester Washington the Third
Music by Joel LaRue Smith
Lyrics by Lee Phenner
Sung by Professor Chester Washington III with Sergeant O'Connor, here performed by Ron Williams and Kevin Cirone. This duet becomes a verbal duel, as Washington locates racism as personal and political, historic and current, and O’Connor keeps coming back to a single word: “perpetrator.” Watch an excerpt.
Two Gentlemen, Two Suitcases
Music by Joseph Smith
Lyrics by Lee Phenner
Sung by Sergeant Tim O'Connor and the witness to the "burglary," here performed by Kevin Cirone and Liliane Klein. As the witness describes the "two gentlemen with suitcases" trying to enter the home, Sgt. O'Connor distorts her account and will submit a police report that covers his questionable actions. Watch an excerpt.
Black and White and Blue All Over
Music by Joseph Smith
Lyrics by Lee Phenner
Sung by Professor Chester Washington III, here performed by Ron Williams, this blues-inspired number presents a striking contrast to the professor we first met, as he now finds himself alone in a jail cell, desolate and dejected. Having done everything “right” in life, he sees fully that, as a Black man in America, he can be rendered powerless in an instant. Watch an excerpt.
Contempt of Cop
Music by Joel LaRue Smith
Lyrics by Lee Phenner
Sung by Chloe Washington, a performance artist and cultural critic and the daughter of Professor Chester Washington III, here performed by Briana Maia. This hip hop-fueled song presents Chloe’s point of view on the white police officer's dubious arrest of her father. It also addresses broader issues of racial profiling, police brutality, and injustice impacting “the countless and the nameless/the power-stripped, the blameless"; that is, the experience of people of color in America every single day. Watch an excerpt.
It's in the Police Report
Music by Joel LaRue Smith
Lyrics by Lee Phenner
Sung by Police Officer Chandra Jones and three other colleagues of Sgt. Tim O'Connor (SATB). Taking a cue from real events, the officers show blind support for their white colleague's arrest of the renowned African American scholar—despite Sgt. O'Connor's questionable judgment. Read the lyrics below.
OFFICER CHANDRA JONES
(spoken)
Good afternoon. I’m Officer Chandra Jones. My fellow police officers and I
would like to issue this brief statement.
OFFICER JONES
SERGEANT O’CONNOR FOLLOWED PROCEDURE.
HE SERVES WITH HONOR. IF YOU SHOULD NEED YOUR
PERSON PROTECTED,
BURGLAR DETECTED,
O’CONNOR’S THE MAN.
OFFICER #2
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER,
WE STAND BESIDE HIM.
OFFICER #3
WE STAND BEHIND HIM.
OFFICER #4
WHEN YOU MALIGNED HIM
WE WERE OFFENDED.
OFFICER #2
MISAPPREHENDED.
OFFICER #3
O’CONNOR’S THE MAN.
OFFICER JONES
OF COURSE WE KNOW HOW THESE THINGS GO.
YOU’VE GOT TO CAST OUT EVERY DEMON OF DOUBT.
BUT HEY, OUR SOLIDARITY —
CHORUS
OUR SOLIDARITY
OFFICER JONES
— INSTILLS A CERTAIN CONFIDENCE, AND SO —
THE FULL ACCOUNT?
CHORUS
IT’S IN THE POLICE REPORT!
OFFICER JONES
WANT SOLID GROUND?
CHORUS
IT’S IN THE POLICE REPORT!
ALL
WRITTEN IN VIRTUALLY REAL TIME,
IN A BINDING “HERE’S THE DEAL” TIME
OFFICER JONES
WHAT WENT DOWN?
CHORUS
IT’S IN THE POLICE REPORT!
OFFICER JONES
PUNCH UP YOUR STORY,
SPICE UP YOUR NEWS CRAWL.
OFFICER #2
DO IT BEFORE WE
WHITE OUT A BAD CALL.
OFFICER #3
PEPPER YOUR BLOG POST
OFFICER #4
SET IT ALL STRAIGHT, BOAST
“IT’S IN THE REPORT.”
OFFICER JONES
AND WE RESENT THE PRESIDENT
FOR CALLING US A BUNCH OF MALCONTENTS.
WE CALL FOR HIS APOLOGY
FOR FAILING TO APPLAUD OUR COMPETENCE.
OFFICER JONES
SERGEANT O’CONNOR FOLLOWED PROCEDURE.
A PARAGON FOR HOW TO EXCEED YOUR
HIGH EXPECTATIONS. CANONIZATIONS?
O’CONNOR’S THE MAN.
ALL
THE FULL ACCOUNT?
IT’S IN THE POLICE REPORT!
WANT SOLID GROUND?
IT’S IN THE POLICE REPORT!
WRITTEN IN VIRTUALLY REAL TIME,
IN A BINDING “HERE’S THE DEAL” TIME
WHAT WENT DOWN?
IT’S IN THE POLICE REPORT!
IT’S IN THE POLICE REPORT!
A Teachable Moment
Music by Joel LaRue Smith
Lyrics by Lee Phenner
Sung by Chloe Washington, here performed by Briana Maia. Chloe produces a video of her interpretation of President Michael Rivera's official responses to the police's use of excessive force; how he would like to respond vs. how he has to respond. Watch an excerpt.
Beer Makes the Man
Sung by two TV morning show hosts, here performed during rehearsal by Steven Martin and Liliane Klein, the media circus is in full force in anticipation of the "Beer Talks" at the White House. The hosts zero in on the silly and superficial, studiously avoiding the difficult aspects of the white officer's dubious arrest of the African American scholar. Watch an excerpt.
A Pint of Understanding
Sung by President Michael Rivera with Professor Chester Washington III and Sergeant Tim O'Connor, here performed by Christian Figueroa, Ron Williams, and Kevin Cirone, the show's title song positions President Rivera as the peacemaker. Washington and O'Connor's reconciliation, though, is short-lived. Watch an excerpt.
Sea Change
Sung by Professor Chester Washington III and Sergeant Tim O'Connor, here performed by Ron Williams and Kevin Cirone, this anthem to hope marks an important shift in the dynamic between these two men. Watch an excerpt.
What's Past is Present
Sung by Professor Chester Washington III with Chloe Washington and chorus, here performed by Ron Williams, Briana Maia, and Liliane Klein. Combining an R&B vibe with sardonic humor, this song pits Chester's optimism against Chloe's skepticism as they explore whether America can overcome its racist past—and present. Watch an excerpt.
I Am Your Champion No More
Sung by Professor Chester Washington III. (Not yet recorded.)
A lifetime of managing racism on personal and national levels has a cumulative effect on Professor Chester Washington III. He finally acknowledges that he likely lost his wife to a racist hate crime and a close call that almost took his daughter's life calls his life's purpose into question.
In the People's Republic of Bainbridge
Sung by a quartet (SATB), here performed by Liliane Klein, Steven Martin, and Ron Murphy. These self-righteous citizens are outraged, and just a little defensive, about a racist arrest taking place in their progressive bastion of Bainbridge. "Of all places!" Watch an excerpt.
Sometimes You Fall
Sung by Professor Chester Washington III, Chloe Washington, and Sergeant Tim O'Connor, here performed by Ron Williams, Briana Maia, and Kevin Cirone. After a hate crime-fueled pipebomb nearly takes Chloe's life, she falls into a medication-laden reverie. Watch an excerpt.
Sea Change - reprise
Sung by Sgt. Tim O'Connor and Chloe Washington. At a White House screening of Chloe’s documentary about the "Race in America" listening tour, which is being live-streamed, Chester is late. As the minutes tick by and Chester remains a no-show, the organizers turn to Chloe and Tim. Momentarily at a loss, they accept the baton and usher in a new era of hope. Watch an excerpt from an earlier version.