B-
At the age of 91, Adrienne Kennedy is having her Broadway debut with this one-act play from the early 1990s, now at the James Earl Jones Theatre (formerly the Cort). Since I did not respond favorably to the only other work of hers that I had seen, “Funnyhouse of a Negro,” I had some misgivings about whether to attend. Since I never miss a chance to see Audra McDonald on stage, I overcame my reluctance and bought a ticket. Although my reaction was much less negative than my previous experience, I decided that her aesthetic is just not one for which I have an affinity. While the story itself is riveting, the fragmented, elliptic, impressionistic, time-bending narrative-heavy manner of the storytelling is at times confusing, frustrating and flat. Her depiction of the deep racism pervading the college experience at Ohio State in 1950 is disheartening and, in this instance, leads to violent consequences. While McDonald is fine as Suzanne Alexander, the famous author who returns to campus 40 years later to discuss the violence in her work, it is not a role that reveals her enormous range. Bryce Pinkham, known mainly for Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, makes a strong impression as her freshman English professor. The other roles are small ones. Abigail Stephenson plays her roommate, Iris Ann. Lizan Mitchell plays her landlady, her dorm manager and her aunt. Mister Fitzgerald plays her future husband and a boyfriend who pops up out of nowhere near the end of the play. Beowulf Boritt’s abstract set features an array of legal bookcases, some floating in air, and lots of snow. Dede Ayite’s costumes suit their characters well. Kenny Leon’s direction seemed flat, but that may have been in the spirit of the piece. Go if you’re an Audra McDonald completist or an Adrienne Kennedy fan. Running time: 75 minutes, no intermission.
I had a more positive reaction to this play. Audra McDonald completely captured my attention as she walked me through the pain and exquisite injustice experienced by a brilliant female “Negro” student attending a prestigious academic institution during an era of segregation and gender discrimination. Although I certainly was aware on an intellectual level of the strain black female students must have faced at this time, the play really brought home the emotional toll, especially the rage, that such women must have endured and had to suppress on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteGreat to read your review and the comment praising Audra's performance. I thought it brave of the producers to mount a broadway production of this troublesome and troubling play. I propped a production by TFANA in 2005(?) so v. familiar with the problems. Having also worked with Audra (Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill) I definitely plan to see it.
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