HOME PAGE
SEARCH CurtainUp
On TKTS
LETTERS TO
EDITOR
REVIEWS
FEATURES
ADDRESS
BOOKS Broadway Off-Broadway DC
NEWS (Etcetera)
BOOKS and CDs (with
Amazon search)
OTHER PLACES Berkshires DC (Washington) London Los Angeles
QUOTES
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS Free Updates Masthead Type too small?
NYC
Weather |
A CurtainUp
Review No Niggers, No
Jews, No Dogs
by
Les Gutman
A. Carter, E. Van Dyke and
C. Wilson (Photo: Mark
Garvin) | Our Philadelphia
colleague, Kathryn Osenlund, reviewed the original mounting of this
new play recently at Philadelphia Theatre Company. Since it has now
transferred intact to Primary Stages, I refer readers to her
comments, which can be found below, as I won't repeat all of the
details she exhaustively and finely covered. My "Second Thoughts"
follow.
At the center of Mr. Redwood's play is a "front porch" drama that
elegantly conveys a side of a pernicious American condition that's
every bit as loathesome as the words on the sign from which the play
gets its title. This is not just a case of bigotry or racism in
abstract terms, but rather one in which the abhorrent ideas play
themselves out in even more offensive physical terms. Although the
play is set in North Carolina in 1949, there is no historical
remove, because events in Texas and Wyoming (and, of course,
elsewhere even if not as widely publicized) in the last few years
make it evident that what we now call hate crimes continue to plague
us.
Redwood shows us not the racism itself, but the way in which it
affects an eminently decent black family, the Cheeks. The word
"trauma" means an insult (physical or not) that provokes an ongoing
effect. What are we to call the consequences of ongoing, pervasive
trauma? No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs seeks to draw for us a
picture.
To the extent Redwood focuses on this story, he accomplishes
much. Yes, as Kathryn points out, he relies more heavily on
narrative than he ought to, but at least we can say he has a point
to make and does so. But the playwright has a further idea in mind,
and that is to draw a parallel between the treatment of blacks and
that of Jews. In every respect, this secondary effort is a failure.
Shoehorning Yaveni Aaronsohn into the play (and it does seems as
though the script was creakily interlineated with his presence)
never achieves whatever point might have been intended, and it adds
a diverting, discordant artificiality to an otherwise worthwhile
effort. Mattie spends a good part of the play wishing Aaronsohn
would get lost. I couldn't agree more. What's worse, Redwood has
given the character an endless monologue that consumes a good chunk
of the second act. Presumably, it is intended to explain why we have
been enduring this nuisance for the past act and a half; all it does
is challenge us to remember anything at all about this play. And Mr.
Redwood, no Jewish man whose religious observance is deep seated
enough that he walks around in the rural south wearing a
yarmulke will fall prey to a fetish for eating pork.
|
A CurtainUp Philadelphia Review
No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs
No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs is a pretty provocative title for a
heartwarming play. The Philadelphia Inquirer didn't even print the
full title in its Lively Arts section, calling it "No *******, No ****, No
Dogs." (No joke.) I heard that the cast referred to it during rehearsals
as "The No Play." The play, which had its world premiere on January 31 in
Philadelphia, is not what you would expect. It is not even remotely
in-your-face. Rather, it is nostalgic. Although it is about race, it is
about larger issues of hate, love, vengeance and forgiveness, things that
can be talked about in a number of ways and that have been getting said
for a long time. These are safe things to say now. Like the author, John
Henry Redwood, who spoke at Barnes and Noble recently, the play is warm,
comfortable (although certain incidents are not), unaffected, and
positive.
The play opens and we hear a hummed song and crickets. There is a very
small frame house you can almost see through. Behind it are long, sheer
curtains partially obscuring a woods. There's a pump with running water
and a tree stump. The set remains the same throughout the play. All the
action, if you can call it that, takes place in front of the little house.
There is little actual action. Maybe three scenes of real-time,
story-moving import take place in front of our eyes. The rest is reported
and we are looking at reactions. It is not just the remote past that is
talked about. Characters come in and report on what has just happened to
them. Key events take place off stage. This kind of theatre is
understandable when a character must report on huge battle scenes with
casts of thousands. Obviously the choice was made to narrate, but it
wouldn't have been too hard to show action. It would have involved more
actors, and heaven knows you don't want to have too many actors in a
production if you want to see it produced. Still, add another three or
four small parts, and the action of the play would have been action. We
hear of a church with a windy preacher and lively singing; there is an
important incident involving a yarmulke and some rednecks; we only hear of
a rape, which could have been suggested visually with one extra character.
Finally, a violent scene is related, part of which might have been shown
instead of told.
The characters talk at length about events of long ago, filling us in
on the back-story. In one scene Yaveni Aaronsohn (Jack Aaron), a Jew,
recounts the very long story of his life and love, his denial and his
guilt, and the monologue seems to fill half the act. Still, he is a
sympathetic character, sensitive and insightful -- who loves pork chops.
He's the character who gets to talk about the (real) sign that was posted
in Mississippi and for which the play is named. For our modern
sensibilities, it seems that a truly well balanced play should involve
more show than tell. This play just tells.
Some of the very good things about the play are the characters and the
actors. The playwright, in building a central woman character, has managed
to avoid that easy Black Mama stereotype, seen in so many musicals and TV
shows, and getting tiresome. Here the central woman character is an
individual who comes across as a believable person and not a paper cut
out. Mattie Cheeks, admirably played by Elizabeth Van Dyke, is a force for
civilization, with concern for manners, respect, and forgiveness. She is
trying to preserve dignity in her family and she manages to do it with
charm and grace. The husband, Rawl Cheeks (played by Marcus Naylor, a fine
actor), must leave town and go "bury dead white folks," leaving his wife
to manage at home with her two young daughters, Matoka and Joyce,
delightfully played by Charis M. Wilson and Adrienne Carter. They live in
Halifax, South Carolina, and by all accounts the place is not safe for
colored people. It seems like a KKK kind of place and it is incredible
that the wife insists she wants to live there when her husband, who is
feeling not only the effects of prejudice, but also stifled in the rural
setting, wants to move on.
A question is raised about right and wrong, what should be told to
someone and what should not be told, and the ramifications of that
question echo throughout the play. It also about marriage, and Mattie says
that every colored woman knows that she must "take on the rage her man
can't let loose anywhere else." There is a powerful scene about love where
she begs her husband to stand with her in their marriage It is a racist
time and, and when something bad happens, Mattie says that it "ain't
right," but "right don't count for us."
Aunt Cora (Rayme Cornell), an important character, a kind of wraith,
dressed all in black with a large black hat and veil, carrying a lantern
and humming, picks up a basket on the step and talks to no one --a
repeated motif. She is just passing through, but not without being
reminded by Mattie that she is loved. Near the end, in a climactic scene
once removed and related by description, there is a too-slow recounting of
a violent act. It appears to be intended to be heavy, agitated, and
dramatic, but the audience laughed. Had it been shown somehow, perhaps
behind a curtain, it may have carried the horror and solemnity it seemed
intended to bear.
Mattie, the wife and mother, and the teacher of others, does learn some
lessons herself, and one is that perhaps Halifax is not the kind of place
in which she should be living and bringing up her daughters. Other
characters learn lessons too; however, it is noted that in a play with an
overriding message of acceptance, it is a good dose of vengeance that
solves the problem.
To my mind there is a flaw in the otherwise very suitable set design in
that we can see virtual entrances and exits just as clearly as the
characters' 'real' entrances and exits. For example, we clearly see
characters who are supposedly in the house actually exiting to the back
and side. A discreet opaque screen behind the house and trees would help
make such exits invisible, and this real distraction would disappear.
In the end, behind a pretty daring title, the play is more about story
telling than action. It is more about love than vengeance. It is steady
and affirming. And there is always room for a playwright who writes about
forgiveness. There is so much to forgive.
Links to other John Henry Redwood plays reviewed at
CurtainUp The In-Gathering
The Old Settler
NO NIGGERS, NO JEWS, NO DOGS By John Henry Redwood
Directed by Israel Hicks Cast: Elizabeth Van Dyke, Marcus
Naylor, Jack Aaron, Charis M. Wilson, Adrienne Carter, Rayme Cornell
Set Design: Michael Brown Lighting Design: Anne G. Wrightson
Costume Design: Christine Field Sound Design: Elaine
Tague Running time: 2 hours with one
intermission Co-production of Philadelphia Theatre Company and
Primary Stages Players Theater 1714 Delancey St (215.568.1920)
01/26/01-02/25/01; opening 01/31/01 Re-opened on transfer
to Primary Stages, 354 West 45th Street (8/9 Avs.) Telephone (212)
333-4052 Re-opening 4/2/01 closing 4/22/01 Wed. - Mon. @8,
Sat. @2:30, Sun. @3, $40-45 Originally reviewed by
Kathryn Osenlund based on 01/31 performance; second thoughts
by Les Gutman based on 3/30
performance | |
|