Topdog/Underdog

Consider Lincoln’s descriptions of the customers who come to the arcade to shoot him. Using evidence from the text, analyze those customers. Who are they? Why might they be taking part in this reenactment?  

Describe Lincoln and Booth’s relationship. Do you think that Lincoln is hustling his brother throughout the play? In your analysis, which of his actions are genuine and which are part of a hustle? What do you think Lincoln’s goal is throughout the play?

Research the historical events surrounding Lincoln’s assassination. What commonalities do you see between Abraham Lincoln/John Wilkes Booth and the fictional Lincoln/Booth of the play? Why do you think Parks decided to use those names?

What do you think it means that Booth and Lincoln’s father named them as a joke? What does this say about their father? How does this inform the relationship between the two brothers? Consider the question that Lincoln asks at the end of the play about whether they are actually related by blood.

Who do you think is the protagonist of the play? Why? What does that character want, and how is the other character acting as the antagonist? How does it change the play if you switch these designations?

In all of her plays, Suzan-Lori Parks uses language and dialect in a specific and pointed way to create her characters. How does the dialogue inform the play? What is the significance? Consider the aspects of the dialogue that the audience can hear as well as those that are only apparent when reading the text.

What does the play say about the telling and reenactment of history? Consider the details we learn about Lincoln’s job at the arcade. What is the significance of the costume? Of the fact that the arcade replaces him with a dummy?

When the play was first produced, Suzan-Lori Parks also released a soundtrack of music that was used in the original production. Listen to the soundtrack. How does the music affect your reading of the play? Which track particularly stands out and why? Why do you think she chose such specific music?