April, 1865 -- the end of the Civil War and the start of freedom for African-American slaves. Two who live in a ruined mansion in Richmond, VA, the Confederate capital, became Jews like their master. Simon, head former slave, awaits his return from hiding with Simon’s wife and daughter and cash owed for them to get a start up north. Instead, in drags the owner’s Confederate army son Caleb with a leg full of gangrene, a not-yet-adjusted racial attitude, and a secret.
John, the young black who’s taken to “liberating” property in vacant manors and unguarded yards, grew up alongside Caleb. They were like “peas in a pod” until John’s delivery to a whipping man hired by masters to punish or just keep slaves in line. John still has sass and appreciates tables being turned. Still, Simon compels John to aid in saving Caleb’s life by amputating his leg, accomplished for the audience mainly by gruesome detail about the procedure but nonetheless shocking. (It’s well done -- short, if not sweet -- here.)
Caleb survives. Though he’s abandoned his faith, Simon insists on his joining in celebrating the Jewish Passover with a Seder. This representation of Jewish freedom from slavery in Egypt parallels situation here and now. The most comedic part of the play consists of finding and using makeshift components of the Seder ceremony. But the rite itself is right-on dramatically and skillfully makes use of Simon singing “Go Down, Moses” and the African-American tradition of proclamation or exhortation and response.
As news comes of the killing of President Lincoln (a parallel to the biblical Abraham) and the hiding of the assassin nearby, seminal secrets are revealed. All three men reverse their roles at the finale.
My assessment of the production, I must admit, has been influenced by my having seen one perfectly achieved in the absolutely right place by Indiana Repertory Theater. West Coast Black Theater has exceptionally modest facilities by comparison and per se. Its small playing space, even extended beyond previous uses, presents remains of a rather ordinary southern middle-class home with no hint of outside expanse or inside space for slaves.
For better and worse, Howard Millman spotlights the actors so much that technical deficiencies get less attention. The sounds of shooting and explosions outside, for instance, stop abruptly when the entrance door closes. A candelabra on the floor when lit illuminates most of the stage including from atop its opposite side. There’s no background for the broken stairway which, never used, could have been truncated. (At Indiana, it held lamps.) Caleb’s upturned couch obscures him from audiences on either side of the 3/4 round. There’s a props-holding cabinet that’s 20th century.
As for the acting, Taurean Blacque makes a wonderful Simon -- uneducated formally but intelligent, practical, able to accomplish required tasks. Blacque shows Simon as loyal to the core, both to his duties and his faith. Because his speaking voice is so deeply resonant, it’s great that he (and Millman) resisted the temptation to make his singing sound professional; instead, they went for realism.
Drew Foster’s Caleb is always at home. Having the toughest job, being confined and nearly immobile, he projects well mostly with facial gestures and reactions to pain. But Robert Douglas’ John, a rascal who supplies much of the play’s humor, is a revelation with his conflicted ways. Despite the author’s theatricalization of John, Douglas makes him perhaps the most truly human of the three men. (I doubt, though, that he would have used the f-word and maybe even ‘badass” in the period -- at least for other than as slang among African Americans. Like Caleb’s quick recovery, it’s the fault of the author.)
It’s good to see WBTT accepting dramatic challenges not from classic plays about the African-American experience. WBTT is lucky to have coaxed Howard Millman out of retirement to help it do so.
Opened:
January 2, 2014
Ended:
February 2, 2014
Country:
USA
State:
Florida
City:
Sarasota
Company/Producers:
Westcoast Black Theater Troupe
Theater Type:
Regional
Theater:
Westcoast Black Theater Troupe Theater
Theater Address:
1646 10th Way
Phone:
941-366-1505
Website:
wbbtsrq.org
Running Time:
90 min
Genre:
Drama
Director:
Howard Millman
Review:
Cast:
Taurean Blacque, Robert Douglas, Drew Foster
Technical:
Set: Richard Cannon; Costumes: Timothy Bentley; Sound: Christopher Colucci; Lighting: James Sale; Stage Mgr: Juanita Mumford; Production Mgr: James Dodge, II
Critic:
Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
January 2014
