Transfers

B+

Through a scheduling fluke, we have two interesting plays about college admissions running at the same time — Admissions by Joshua Harmon at Lincoln Center Theater and now Transfers by Lucy Thurber in an MCC production at Lucille Lortel Theatre. Both are worth seeing. (Go to https://gothamplaygoer.blogspot.com/2018/03/admissions.html for my review of Admissions.) In Ms. Thurber’s play, we meet two students from a New York community college, one African-American, the other Hispanic, who are vying with six other applicants for a chance to attend an elite New England liberal arts institution. This university admits two worthy low-income transfer students annually as a rather grudging token gesture toward affirmative action. We also meet the three members of the selection committee, an African-American humanities professor, a women’s rugby coach and a recruiter for the scholarship program. Clarence Matthews (Ato Blankson-Wood; Iphigenia in Aulis, Lysistrata Jones) is gay, black and an avid reader. Cristofer Rodriguez (Juan Castano; A Parallelogram) is a great wrestler, rough-edged and unfiltered. It turns out that the two boys knew each other in the Bronx when they were younger, under fraught circumstances. David DeSantos (Glenn Davis; Wig Out!) not only has recruited them but attempts to prep them for their admissions interviews. The bookish Clarence’s interview with Professor Geoffrey Dean (Leon Addison Brown; The Trip to Bountiful; Master Harold and the Boys) seems to go very well. Cristofer’s interview with Coach Rosie McNulty (Samantha Soule; The Philanthropist, Barbecue) is both hilarious and moving. When the committee meets, the behavior of its three members does not always conform to our expectations. Interesting questions about readiness for college versus worthiness for college are raised. Ms. Thurber (The Hill Town Plays) knows how to create vivid characters and write lively dialogue. The scenes occasionally run on too long. The story of what happened back in the Bronx remains a bit murky. The ending seemed a bit contrived. Nevertheless, the play fully engaged my interest. The actors are all fine, especially Mr. Castano, whose Cristofer is one of the most memorable characters I have seen on a New York stage this season. The scenic design by Donyale Werle (The Legend of Georgia McBride, Peter and the Starcatcher) transforms smoothly to five different locations. The costumes by Jessica Ford (Stuffed, These Paper Bullets) are apt. Jackson Gay’s (Stuffed, These Paper Bullets) direction is seamless. This will be MCC’s final production at the Lortel before their move to the Far West 50’s. I will miss them, but am glad they are ending on a high note. Running time: one hour 45 minutes; no intermission.

"Master Harold" ...and the Boys **** A

A superb revival of Athol Fugard’s 1992 masterpiece, directed by the playwright, is the latest offering at Signature Theatre. In this semi-autobiographical work, Fugard portrays a critical moment in the longtime relationship between Hally (Noah Robbins), a 17-year old Afrikaaner, and two black employees of his family’s business, the wise Sam (Leon Addison Brown) who has tried to be a mentor to Hally and the impulsive Willie (Sahr Ngaujah). Hally’s father, badly injured in WW II, is an alcoholic. His mother has been forced to be the family breadwinner, first by operating a boarding house, since then by running a tea room. The lonely, seething, embittered Hally has turned to Sam and Willie since early childhood for companionship. When a telephone call from his mother bodes ill for Hally’s future, he lashes out at the only people he feels any control over. There are lighter moments of Sam and Willie preparing for a dance contest and of Hally recollecting happier times, but the play builds inexorably to its lacerating climax. Every aspect of this production is top-notch. All three actors fully inhabit their roles, the realistic set by Christopher H. Barreca is excellent, Susan Hilferty’s costumes are fine and Fugard’s direction is, as one would expect, assured. I could quibble that the play’s metaphors are occasionally a bit heavy-handed, but it is indisputably a modern classic. I highly recommend seeing it. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes; no intermission.

The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek ***

Even though he has already written over a score of plays about life in South Africa during and after apartheid, Athol Fugard still has things to say on the subject. His new play at Signature Theatre is loosely based on the career of outside artist Nukain Mabuza, a black farm laborer who painted colorful designs on the boulders located on the farm owned by the Afrikaaner family who employed him. They encouraged him and bought him paint to spend his Sundays turning the rocks into stone “flowers.” In Fugard’s fictionalized version of his life, the aged Nukain (Leon Addison Brown) arrives with his 11-year old assistant Bokkie (Caleb McLaughlin) to tackle the last unpainted boulder, a gigantic one he calls “The Big One.” He feels artistically blocked and unable to paint the rock until Bokkie’s suggestion that he paint eyes on it. Doing so releases a flood of creative energy and, instead of a flower, he turns the rock into an abstract record of his life. When the boss’s wife Elmarie (Bianca Amato) arrives bearing leftovers, she dislikes his painting and tells him to paint over it the following weekend and replace it with another floral design. Bokkie is horrified and sasses her. She is enraged at his cheekiness and tells Nukain to use his belt on him. The irony is that Nukain is so poor he doesn’t even own a belt. 

22 years later, the adult Bokkie, now known by his given name Jonathan (Sahr Ngaujah) returns to Revolver Creek where he is greeted by a hostile Elmarie brandishing a pistol. She does not recognize him and is on edge because of the recent murder and torture of her neighbors by blacks. Most of the act consists of long alternating speeches by the two, each passionately defending a point of view. Fugard plays fair in presenting their perspectives and mostly avoids didacticism. The play ends on a cautiously optimistic note.

The production is exemplary. The cast could not be better. Christopher H. Barreca’s evocative set draws you in immediately. Susan Hilferty’s costumes are appropriate. The playwright’s direction is uncluttered. It’s not a major Fugard play, but still a welcome addition to his canon. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes including intermission. 

NOTE: I suggest staying in your seat at intermission because the set change is extremely interesting. I also suggest avoiding the first two rows (unless you have a foot fetish) because you’ll be staring at the performers’ feet.