me to add a few satirical comments about the

me to add a few satirical comments about the honor of being the bridegroom’s second wife. (Traditionally, African men have multiple wives. Women don’t have multiple husbands, I had no difficulty adding satirical lines).

Paul muted his hammer dulcimer and slid right in beside the musicians playing marimba, shaker and drums. After two days of rehearsal we performed together for an audience of 200 people in an open courtyard. The stone patio was covered with burlap, the doors behind us with an old tarp, several flood lights lashed to nearby trees. The audience sat on borrowed chairs sinking into several inches of sand in the unfinished courtyard. And there was magic that night under the stars in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The same evening, Paul and I performed “Katie Malone,” a one-act play based on the life and marriage of my mother. In fact, we performed “Katie Malone” in each country we visited. We were completely surprised by the warm enthusiasm of the audiences. USIA officials in Washington, D.C. had suggested that a play like “Katie” might be too culturally specific and recommended traditional folktales and music to cross cultural borders more easily. Well, of all the performances pieces we did, “Katie” was the favorite and seemed to spark surprising conversations everywhere.

We performed in Nairobi, Kenya, at the French Cultural Center where there is a small 150-seat theatre. It was packed with an audience that was more than 96 percent Kenyan. After the performance, a young Kenyan woman spoke. ‘Tonight for the first time I have thought of my mother as a person. I have only known her as the wife of my father. ”

After that same performance a short, stocky man with sparkling eyes came back stage. “Katie Malone” has numerous references to my entire family. Referring to the play our visitor said that he knew my brother Barry from the days when Barry had studied to be a Jesuit priest. This man, I learned was a Jesuit psychia