Shermona Mitchell, Naa Akua, Nicholas Japaul Bernard, and Allyson Lee Brown bring the book to life. Credit: JOVELLE TAMAYO

Shermona Mitchell, Naa Akua, Nicholas Japaul Bernard, and Allyson Lee Brown bring the book to life.

Shermona Mitchell, Naa Akua, Nicholas Japaul Bernard, and Allyson Lee Brown bring the book to life. JOVELLE TAMAYO

The same weekend that President Donald Trump told four women of color in the United States Congress to “go back” to where they came from, four actors of color stood onstage at Center Theatre wearing red and holding red apples. They were already onstage when the audience walked in.

It was the opening night of Sound Theatre Company’s production of Citizen: An American Lyric, a new play based on the evocative and enraging book of prose fragments by Claudia Rankine about what it’s like to deal with the daily insults of racism. The show was adapted for the stage by Stephen Sachs and directed by Jay O’Leary.

Christopher Frizzelle was The Stranger's print editor, and first joined the staff in 2003. He was the editor-in-chief from 2007 to 2016, and edited the story by Eli Sanders that won a 2012 Pulitzer...