It's possible to think of everything that unfolds onstage as a power struggle; everything is two (or more) people struggling to get what they want. Maybe life isn't always like this, but life isn't theater. Part of the fun of going to a play is considering all of the decisions--behind props, behind an actor's posture, behind lighting--that go into even one moment, even one split-second. "American Son," on Broadway, is overly-schematic. The characters feel like devices. There's a sense of "agit-prop"; rather than trying to capture enduring, subtle truths, the playwright might just want to "stir you up." But it's still fun. It's fun to consider everything happening "underneath the dialogue." A white officer assumes a black visitor's son is "a certain kind" of person; the visitor throws him off when she mentions that her son loves Emily Dickinson. And then, this absurd and still striking exchange. The ...