‘Honey’ brings big ideas home

Some innkeepers leave a mint on your pillow. Others send you home with a fascinating inspiration for a play.

When Lenora Webb Conway and her husband stayed at a bed and breakfast in Front Royal, the playwright, composer and lyricist couldn’t help asking their host about the history of the old house.

He proceeded to share the story he’d been told about a former slave who’d lived on the property when it was part of a larger plantation. According to the tale, the freedwoman moved to Charlottesville, opened an inn, prospered and eventually sent the sons of her former owner to college.

“As a writer I said, “Oh, my, that is too good,’ ’’ Conway said. “I didn’t pass this up.”

Conway, a former talk show host and columnist now living in Fluvanna County, quickly penned a short story and stuck it in her files, certain she’d want to come back to it. It grew from a short story to a play that has been performed at the Arts Club of Washington and the National Press Club, as well as Theater Shenandoah in Edinburg and the FAPC Theatre in New York City.

Two readings of “Honey House” will be presented at the 15th annual Virginia Festival of the Book, one at 6 this evening at Verity Blue and another at 2 p.m. Saturday at Merrie Mill Farm off Route 22 in Keswick. A local cast led by Noelle Tremblay as Honey and David Kimbell as Jonas will read the work under the direction of South African film producer David Barrett, and Florida film and music producer Darryl Saffer will be filming the readings.

Each presentation will be followed by open discussions about the ethical and moral issues brought up by the plot, which include the ways in which racial prejudice, social status and holding back on the truth can affect a family for generations.

Keeping secrets may make some folks feel better in the short term, but the deceit can have devastating consequences in innocent people’s lives. Without giving too much away, secrets kept after the births of three children in Conway’s play throw painful obstacles in their paths just as bright futures unfold for them.

“It’s not just a play about black-white relations,” Conway said. “It’s about families and mendacity and lying and the consequences of not telling the truth. It has been a very satisfying educational experience, I tell you.”

That’s because Conway sought many perspectives as she crafted her play. The playwright is white, while her dramaturg — Fredric Lee, who directed the first production — is black.

“He got so interested in the story that he met with me for weeks and weeks. He ended up directing the play,” Conway said.

After performances, “people would come up to me very emotionally and say, ‘You told my story,’ ’’ she said. “It’s a good time in our history, honestly, for this play to have a life.”

When she sent the play to Bennett, a friend in Florida, she hoped to get his feedback. He liked it so much that he offered to direct it.

Including a play in a book festival is a sound choice because it brings a fresh perspective, Conway said.

“I just submitted it because it was a Virginia story,” she said. “It broadens the offerings of the book festival by giving a different way to tell the story.”

Both readings are free, but it’s a good idea to check on seating availability ahead of time at http://www.vabook.org.