Pure Confidence is a great name for a horse, especially one that wins races regularly. However, a horse needs an equally good jockey to accomplish anything. This lesson is what people take home after watching Pure Confidence at the 59E59 theatre in Manhattan.

Pure Confidence begins before the civil war and follows the story of an enslaved African-American jockey by the name of Simon. He even impresses his master, the colonel, and gains the affection of his master’s wife. His talent on the track gains him some fans including the esteemed General Dewitt who eventually tries to hire Simon to race for him, but is outbid by the Colonel, proud of his young jockey that he starts to see as a friend more than a servant. He eventually becomes so successful that he buys himself out of slavery and takes his girlfriend Caroline with him. After that the Colonel, his wife, Simon and Caroline go on tour to races all over the country with Simon making a name for himself.

This all stops at Saratoga. The Colonel told Simon that racers in the north were much tougher and played dirty, but Simon, drunk on his success, took no notice. When they eventually got to Saratoga, Simon found out the hard way that everything the Colonel said was true. He was permanently injured during the race and his racing career was over.

This play is a study in the relations between master and slave and how those relations change when the slave becomes free and he goes from being the servant to business partner. The acting in this play featured a lot of shouting, sadness, anger, and a little bit of comedy here and there. Very entertaining and a great pick me up for a bad day. A great play for people who like stories of success and failure.