My self-titled "Year of Living Theatrically" is
coming to a close. After today's
adventure, I have 2 more shows to see.
Today I went to see my first August Wilson play, "Ma Rainey's Black
Bottom". It's one of the
Pittsburgh Cycle of plays that defined Wilson's career. In chronology it's the third member of
the cycle, but it was the first one he wrote and the only one not set in
Pittsburgh. It is the story of a
single recording session of the "Mother of the Blues," Madame
"Ma" Rainey in Chicago in the mid-1920's. The bulk of the plot is carried by her ensemble of
musicians, but Ma also has a consequential role in the arc of the
story-telling.
The theater company was new to me. 1st Stage Theatre is located in McLean, Virginia near to the
Tyson's Corner shopping/office/high rise hub, but it's decidedly
unremarkable. The actual theater
is found on the second level of an industrial strip mall made up mostly of
various auto repair and body shops.
Once inside the operation is ticketless--I made my purchase online and
they had my name on a printout to verify my attendance. The actual theater space is intimate,
and surprisingly adequate. The set
was beautiful! It gave actors
multiple platforms from which to inhabit the various scenes, and it maximized
the sense of space.
As to the production, there's an old adage about how even
gnats can befoul a jar of perfume.
So let me both begin with the gnats but preface them by saying it was a
decent production, and I will speak of the positives, too. To begin with, the play itself was
completely new to me. Therefore, I
relied on the actors to bring its mean to the surface, but finding the path of
the plot was often muddled and lost in the moments. It would be like have each individual player know well their
lines and when to deliver them, but not comprehending a higher level of meaning
when the power of the ensemble kicks in and one person's dialogue becomes the
compelling catalyst to the next person's dialogue. About half of the cast failed to transition from competent
line-readers to characters speaking real words in real time. Most disappointing in this regard was
Thomascena Nelson in the title role.
As Ma Rainey, she had a lot of really important stuff to say, but never
convinced me that in saying these things the fact that there were other characters
in the room with her matter at all.
She delivered the lines with great accuracy and even feeling, yet; who
was she delivering them to? Another
easily rectified short-coming would have been to have taught Tendo Nsubuga in
the role of Ma's nephew how to actually stutter. It was kind of a key aspect to his character, an otherwise
minor role. The fact that he was
bad at it, made it feel like a high school production when it was his turn to
speak. Even those actors who delivered powerful moments or consistent
characterizations were not able to rescue the overall sense of lethargy.
Who did I like? I liked most of all William T. Newman
as Cutler. He was consistent in
his portrayal of the ensemble's old-guard leader. He play off of and with other's and dog gone it he was just
believable and likeable start to finish.
I liked Joe Palka as Ma's agent Irvin. (Full Disclosure: I know Joe in a very casual way--over 15
years ago I was one of his daughter's teachers. We surely spoke on a couple occasions back then, but I
honestly doubt that he would remember me.
I recall at that time knowing that dabble in acting, while his wife--the
Emmy Award winning Weather Woman--was the real "star" of the family.) Joe channeled to great effect the
Meredith Burgess character from the "Rocky" films to present a milder
everyman caught between competing interests and doing his damndest to make
nice-nice. I like Michael Anthony
Williams as the piano player "Toledo". Michael not only created an affecting counter-character (the
black intellectual writ-small), but did so without being smarmy. And he was a consistent source of comic
interjection with his well-timed wordless reactions to others. And finally, I really liked Clayton
Pelham, Jr.'s portrayal of Levee.
However, I also found it lacking.
He held in the palm of his hand the key soliloquies of the play. The first feeling like it came out of
nowhere at the end of the first Act.
An utter gut punch...and that's my complaint. How is the midst of such an abjectly dark spot upon his
heart, was there no warning...no indication of such earlier in the show? The opportunity was there, and it was
ignored. I sense in this man a
profound desire to act at a superior level--it came out at times and rather
than being profound, because there was no sufficient foundation, they were a
little odd, a little off. No
greater representation of this was than the final scene. What should have been a psychological
tour de force of regret and realization was just confusing and half-baked. While many others stood at the end in
ovation--this time, I remained seated.
A good show deserves nothing more.
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