The Blue Vein Society: Class and Color within Black America

The Blue Vein Society
Blue Vein Society President Josh Ryder is all set to announce his engagement to a young fair-skinned beauty when his very dark-skinned wife from slavery suddenly appears searching for her long lost husband. A shocked Ryder is forced to confront his hidden past.
No Hidin' Place
A southern sheriff discovers the mulatto he is protecting from the lynch mob is his own son, accused of murdering a Confederate army officer. As the mob closes in, the sheriff is forced to make a painful decision to save his son from being lynched.

With amazing speed -- and superb acting -- Kelley's play shifts from light but edged irony, to pain, rage, tenderness and acceptance, underscoring the many nuances of prejudice.
Neil Novelli
Syracuse Post Standard

This reviewer long has felt [Kelley] has a kinship with the late August Wilson. Like the Pulitzer Prize winner, Kelley revels in dealing with African-American history.
Joan E. Vadaboncouer
Syracuse Post Standard

The Blue Vein Society . . . is most certainly about the black experience, but like all good drama, it uses that point of view to talk about the human experience.
Ann L. Ryan
Albuquerque Journal