Crumbs from the Table of Joy Themes

Crumbs From the Table of Joy is a play that explores the impact a strong sense of faith can have on a person’s life. For Ernestine Crumb’s father, Godfrey, religious faith is what helps him feel centered and grounded in the face of sadness and uncertainty. In the aftermath of his wife’s death, he devotes himself to the Peace Mission Movement (a real-life movement led by a Black man named Father Divine…

Crumbs From the Table of Joy deals directly with the harsh reality of racism in the United States and the seemingly ever-present threat it poses to Black Americans. Set in the 1950s, the play spotlights the Crumb family’s attempt to escape the injustices of the Jim Crow (racial segregation) laws by traveling from the South to New York City. And yet, the play suggests that escaping racism isn’t as easy as simply leaving the South…

Crumbs From the Table of Joy examines how people respond to perspectives that differ from their own. Godfrey, for instance, has a strong negative reaction whenever he comes into contact with his late wife’s sister, Lily’s, progressive, communist worldview. His intense backlash is tied to the anti-communist sentiment that was especially strong in the United States during the 1950s (when the play is set). To be branded a communist came with grave social…