Two Eras, One Fight: Dominique Morisseau’s Confederates Hits the Fountain Stage

Spanning 160 years from plantation espionage to modern higher ed, the playwright’s latest satire proves as hilarious as it is uncompromising.

What separates an enslaved Union spy in the 1860s from a tenured political science professor in 2026? On the surface, more than a century and a half of history, legal emancipation, and the hard-won achievements of modern academia. But beneath the surface, as Tony-nominated playwright and MacArthur “Genius” recipient Dominique Morisseau exposes in her provocative play Confederates, the institutional mechanisms of power, race, and gender remain stubbornly unchanged.

Opening October 30 at Los Angeles’s Fountain Theatre, the Southern California premiere of Confederates presents a sharp-witted, fearless exploration of Black womanhood across two distinct eras. Directed by Fountain Theatre Artistic Director Raymond O. Caldwell, the production uses biting humor and swift theatrical shifts to map the unbroken thread connecting historic plantation dynamics to contemporary institutional power.

Two Eras, One Shared Battleground

At the center of Confederates are two women bound by history and parallel resistance. Sara, portrayed by Nedra Ryan Taylor (The First Deep Breath, Clyde’s), is an enslaved woman during the Civil War who steps into the perilous role of a Union spy, turning her sharp intellect into a weapon for liberation. Across the century divide, Sarah Scott Davis (Last Summer at Bluefish Cove) plays Sandra, a tenured professor navigating the covert landmines of institutional politics, microaggressions, and systemic erasure at a prestigious university in the year 2026.

Moving seamlessly between past and present, Morisseau forces audiences to witness the structural parallels both women face. Though Sara battles physical chains while Sandra navigates tenure committees, each must confront a system engineered to undermine her authority, decide whom she can truly trust, and fight to claim control of her own story. The Fountain’s intimate stage amplifies this tension, placing the audience just feet away from the actors to intensify the claustrophobia of both the plantation fields and the academic boardroom.

Challenging West Coast Assumptions

While Civil War narratives are often compartmentalized as regional history, the creative team behind this production stresses that the play’s themes are far from distant. Director Raymond O. Caldwell emphasizes the necessity of bringing this story to a Southern California audience, noting how the legacy of the plantation system reverberates across the entire nation.

“I love this play, just as I love Morisseau’s entire canon, because it asks audiences to engage in complex conversations and to navigate the true cost of freedom,” says Caldwell. “It’s sometimes easy to assume that slavery was a Southern problem, not a West Coast problem. What Confederates makes clear is that Southern plantations were simply the springboard for the institutionalization of Black oppression as a core American value. It begs the question: how do we move on?”

Caldwell leads an accomplished ensemble cast that also features Sufe Bradshaw (VEEP), Mara Klein (An Octoroon), and Daks McClettie II in his Fountain Theatre debut. The production is supported by a distinguished design team, including scenic designer Matt McCarren, lighting designer Alison Brummer, sound designer Andrea “Slim” Allmond, and costume designer Wendell C. Carmichael, with assistant direction by RheAnn Mennefield and production stage management by Lanae Wilks.

Theater as Community Space

In keeping with its commitment to community-driven art, the Fountain Theatre has partnered with Black Women for Wellness to transform the run into an extended platform for civic engagement and healing. Rather than treating the play strictly as traditional entertainment, the venue is integrating post-show Community Conversations after every Friday evening performance, offering audiences a structured space to process and debate the play’s themes together.

This community focus extends further with a dedicated “Black Out Affinity Night” on Friday, November 13, designed specifically for an audience self-identifying as Black to experience the performance collectively. The following day, Saturday, November 14, the theater will host a day-long Black Wellness Summit featuring local leaders and health organizations. The immersive cultural experience even reaches the lobby, where the Fountain Theatre Café will serve selections from Brown Estate, the first Black-owned winery in Napa Valley, throughout the entire run.

Performance & Ticket Details

• Venue: The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave. (at Normandie), Los Angeles, CA
• Preview Performances: Wednesday, Oct. 28 and Thursday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m.
• Official Opening: Friday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m.
• Regular Schedule: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. (Through Dec. 13; no performances Nov. 26 or Nov. 27)
• Added Monday Performances: Nov. 16, Nov. 23, and Nov. 30 at 8 p.m.
• Ticket Prices: $5–$75 (Dynamic pricing including Name-Your-Own-Price options)
• Reservations: Call (323) 663-1525 or visit FountainTheatre.com