Deep Are the Roots


Deep Are the Roots is a 1945 play by Arnaud d'Usseau and James Gow about a decorated African American soldier who has returned from World War II.

Plot

Brett is an African-American who grew up in the home of a former senator as the child of a servant. He has served in World War II and been treated as an equal and he wants to change the world. He returns to his hometown and begins a romance with Genevra, a daughter of the former sentator in a town where him checking a book out of the public library causes controversy.

Production history

It was first staged on Broadway in 1945 directed by Elia Kazan and starring Barbara Bel Geddes and it ran for 477 performances. The New York Times noted at the time that it did not "shy away from a problem" - racism in the Southern United States.
Earl Cameron played the lead role in the play in a West End production.
It was revived at the Metropolitan Playhouse in 2012.