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The essay is a review of The Copper Children performed at the 2020 Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I focus on the play’s portrayal of the history of economic and racial discrimination against racial minorities surrounding the “Trial of the Century”—New York Foundling Hospital v. Gatti, 203 U.S. 429 (1906)—in the style of Brecht’s epic theatre. The play is set in the Arizona mining towns of Clifton and Morenci and New York City in 1903-1904. The plot revolves around the economic and racial oppression of the Mexican miners by Anglo-Americans in conjunction with the helpless situation of deprived—and mostly Irish—children who were sent to Midwest homes by train. Through frequent narrations of the ensemble and double casting, the play provokes a critical look at the historical event that has received little attention in academia and from the public. In terms of the thin presence of epic theatre on modern American stage, I critically reflect on the efficacy of the play’s epic theatre form and offer a constructive criticism. While the epic theatre devices used in the play seem to be conducive to the audience’s learning and critical thinking, I find the lack of humor and innovative estranging strategies in the performance problematic. Since epic theatre is still an important form as an alternative style to domestic realism that has dominated American stage since the 19th century, it is imperative to find ways to estrange epic theatre itself.
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Karen Zacarias, The Copper Children, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, orphan train
