Exploring Political Correctness in “The Thanksgiving Play”

Photo by Joan Marcus

What happens in our present cultural climate when four well-meaning white actors try to present a culturally-sensitive, authentic play about the first Thanksgiving? It’s a clever premise and one that is quite hilariously realized in a production of Larissa Fasthorse’s “The Thanksgiving Play” at the Helen Hayes Theatre.

Rachel Chavkin, the play’s director, isn’t just interested in poking at the absurdity of the politically-correct movement. In between the onstage scenes, video clips of elementary-school Thanksgiving songs play. These clips are clearly staged, but they do shockingly reveal how twisted our portrayal of the Pilgrims and Native Americans can be.

The narrative of “The Thanksgiving Play” follows Logan, a high school drama teacher tasked with creating and staging a 45-minute play of the first Thanksgiving for elementary students. Funded by a Native American Heritage Month grant, she hires a “Native American” actress, Alicia (to be culturally sensitive, of course), gathers a few friends, and attempts to begin staging the production.

As the play progresses, we come to realize that there’s a lot of philosophical depth to this comedic piece. At the heart of the play is a very relevant question for our society: Have we become so hyper-focused on political correctness and cultural sensitivity that we are in danger of missing the opportunities to actually explore what makes our differing cultures so unique?

The complicated, messy histories of our country are unavoidable. Holidays like Thanksgiving will always be filled with cultural landmines. But there’s still a lot to celebrate and many mistakes to learn from.

“The Thanksgiving Play '' isn't perfect; it has some skippable moments, but also some good scenes. It might be worth engaging in if the opportunity arises.

“The Thanksgiving Play” is currently running at the Helen Hayes Theatre through June 4, 2023.

Eli Johnson is the Theatre Columnist for the Empire State Tribune. He is a sophomore at The King's College majoring in Business. He is an avid theatre-goer and always enjoys a game of chess.