The River Niger

The Play highlights a Black family’s conflict when their son returns from military training undecided about his own future and not quite the hero his father expected. The Black Power friends he left are still struggling with their issues and find he is not quite the staunch militant they once knew. First t produced by the esteemed Negro Ensemble Company off-Broadway in 1972, the play proved to be a hit and moved to Broadway in 1973 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre where it played 162 performances. Playwright Joseph A. Walker (1935-2003) won a Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Playwright (1973). The drama received Tony Award Nominations for Best Featured Actor in a Play: Douglas Turner Ward ; Best Featured Actress in a Play: Roxie Roker; and won the Tony Award (1974) for Best Play.