This new theater company obviously understands
that the only way to approach savage satire is no holds barred, flat out, in
your face. Any hint of trepidation or concern for anyone’s feelings can be
fatal. Certainly, George S. Wolfe pulled not a punch in his satirical review
which burst on the scene in 1986 but seems to have faded from view. This
company packs all the energy and enthusiasm it can into an uninterrupted
assault on racial stereotyping that is as unforgiving of those who accept
the stereotype as those who impose it. White or Black, the attitudes of
modern America – or at least those attitudes that were prominent in 1986 and
which are still very much with us today – are brought into the light to be
scrubbed, tubbed and pummeled.Storyline: Eleven skits calling for
casts of one to six challenge the myths of the African American experience.
From the opening instructions from a stewardess aboard a slave ship ("obey
the ‘fasten shackles’ sign at all times") to a finale of a party for many of
the characters who peopled the earlier skits, the diatribe just keeps coming
at you. The best known of the skits – and the most controversial at the time
of the play’s debut – is the centerpiece lampoon of A Raisin in the Sun
and all the black-family-perspective plays that opened after that play won
the New York Drama Critics Circle award.
Laura Daye starts the ball rolling in high style with her Slaver
Stewardess bit which gives way to a cooking show lampooning the culinary
reputation of African Americans featuring Janice Menifee as an Aunt Jamima
put on. The energy level of these two performances sets a high standard but
director Sherri LaVie Linton keeps it coming without letting either the
performers or the audience take much of a breath. After a fashion conscious
photo shoot the focus turns to the Vietnam experience and the society its
veterans returned to. The level of wit remains high through most of the bits
although the gospel on television diatribe is relatively unleavened by any
droll touches.
Music plays a major part in this production, giving a jolt of energy akin
to the role of gospel music in a revival. Anthony Boker handled the music
direction duties here while director Linton handled her own choreography.
She also had a hand in the design of costumes, sound, set and lights.
Since this is not only the inaugural effort of a new theater company but
also the inaugural production in a new theater, some comments on the new H
Street Playhouse are in order. The building dates from 1928 when it was
built as a dealership for the old hupmobile brand of cars. Since then it has
served as a small movie theater (reported to be the only one in the area to
admit African Americans) and later a restaurant. Decked out as a black box
with platforms accommodating rows of cushioned chairs, it makes an intimate
theater space that is a welcome addition to the Potomac Region. In this
first production it proved to be fairly echoey but that may be minimized by
attention to set designs and possible draping in future configurations.
Written by George C. Wolfe. Directed and choreographed by Sherri LaVie
Linton. Music direction by Anthony Booker. Design: Christie Withers (set)
Benita Walls (costumes) Joshual Sadowsky and Darryl Moran (lights) Issac
Liu, Madcap Players (sound) Benita Walls (multimedia) and Sherri LaVie
Linton (all the above). Cast: Frank Britton, Steven Butler, MaConnia Chesser,
Nakiea Washington Dade, Laura Daye, Janice Menifee.
