“If there were any justice in the world, The Family Line would run year-round.”

-Brian Sands, Ambush Magazine

On October 21st, 2022 Goat in the Road Productions (GRP) and Historic BK House and Gardens (BK House) came together to open The Family Line. The immersive, history-based show ran for three months, sold out almost all of its 60-plus shows, received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, reached four groups of high school students with free performances, and won the 2023 Big Easy Theater Award for Best Play. 

The Family Line offered audiences the rare opportunity to ‘step back in time’. Alexandra Kinnon (Country Roads Magazine) commented, “The audience is made to feel like they've actually traveled in time; like they're witnessing history unfold before them.” The show centered on the 1892 New Orleans General Strike when over 30,000 workers walked off the job in a show of interracial solidarity. The play examined this event through the lens of a group of grocery store workers, some Sicilian-American and some African-American, making the difficult decision about whether or not to walk off the job.

Critical Response

The Family Line received positive critical reception from a wide variety of local and regional outlets.  Reviews include the following: 

• Brad Rhines, nola.com. Rhines writes, “The Family Line is a fitting final chapter in GRP’s reconstruction-era history plays, a trilogy of work that has dug up some often overlooked people, places, and events from the city’s past, while also devising a unique way of telling these nearly forgotten stories that give audiences an opportunity to be in the rooms where history happened.” 

• Will Coviello, Gambit Weekly. Coviello describes the show as a “seamless immersive drama.” 

• Paul Oswell, Out All Day: New Orleans. Oswell comments, “If you emerge from The Family Line feeling that it was anything less than utterly compelling and masterfully presented...I’ll buy you another ticket and let’s go and see it again.” 
  

The Reconstruction Trilogy

The Family Line is Goat in the Road’s third immersive, history-based show set during Reconstruction-era New Orleans. Just like the plays before it, Family Line featured untold and under-told stories from the city’s history, with a specific emphasis on the everyday people who advocated for change. As part of this project, Goat in the Road connected with three different labor organizing groups (Nuestro Voz, Step Up Louisiana, and the Workers’ Center for Racial Justice) to examine the 1892 general strike through the lens of the contemporary struggle for worker rights. On November 20th, 2022 Goat in the Road and the BK House brought together representatives from each of these organizations for a panel discussion. The organizations also helped construct a New Orleans labor history exhibit in the show’s lobby. Curtis Williams (Step Up Louisiana) commented about the impact theater can have on labor organizing:  “Theater can play a role. It already does. It can inspire, encourage, and educate” (Facing South, 2023).

Audience Reaction

The Family Line ran for thirteen total weeks, featuring five shows per week. It sold out 95% of its houses. At the conclusion of each show, audience members were offered an opportunity to write down their reflections and thoughts. Hundreds participated, and the below comment is a representative example of viewer enthusiasm:

“This is such an exciting way to engage with the history of New Orleans. This type of theater/experience tells history in a new way, inspiring thoughtful reflection and the desire to learn more. The cast, set, and costumes were fantastic. Wonderful job!”

Future Plans

Our vision is to run an immersive, history-based show like The Family Line, year-round in New Orleans. We believe this unique, history-based entertainment experience could appeal to locals and tourists alike, and become a permanent part of the New Orleans cultural landscape.  If you would like to discuss these ideas further or offer any thoughts and support, please reach out to shannon@goatintheroadproductions.org.