Three generations of a West Chester family come alive on stage at People’s Light in the new play Mud Row, written by award-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau, writes Howard Shapiro for WHYY.

Mud Row tells the story of two sisters who live in a house in West Chester that was bought by their late mother, a prostitute who saved money to purchase it. One sister is a freedom fighter, the other pretends she is a black woman from a high society set to land a husband.

The social-climbing sister tries to escape her past, but years later, it ends up catching up to her and her own two daughters.

The play masterfully flows back and forth in time through generations. While the matriarch is never seen, her presence is constantly felt on stage.

In the foreground is the history of West Chester: the Quaker influence that made the town an important stop for the Underground Railroad and in the Civil Rights era.

The play was commissioned by People’s Light as part of its New Play Frontiers project.

Read more about Mud Row at WHYY here.