At its heart, the play is a dark, comic, and tragic look at the lives of two African American brothers, ironically named and Booth . Abandoned by their parents as teenagers, they now share a seedly, one-room apartment.
: The brothers' names alone anchor them to a historical trauma they cannot escape. Lincoln’s job physically reenacts a historical murder daily, mirroring the inescapable cycles of violence and poverty the brothers face. topdog underdog pdf
: A former 3-card monte con artist who has gone "straight." He earns a meager living working at an arcade where he dresses in whiteface to play Abraham Lincoln, allowing tourists to "assassinate" him with cap guns. At its heart, the play is a dark,