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A CurtainUp Review
Time to Kill
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Come on. Black father killing two white men who raped his Daughter . . .This is a trial about race pretending to be a trial about murder. White father kills two black rapists, there wouldn't be a trial.—Law student Ellen Roark to Defense Attorney Jake Brigance.
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Dion Grahamand Sebastian Arcelus a in A Time to Kill
(Photo: Joan Marcus) |
A Time to Kill makes the most of the built-in element of conflict in courtroom dramas as well as racial tension, the Ku Klux Klan, the struggle for equality and fear. Archival videos (designed by Jeff Sugg) as well as commentary by a tv news reporter (played by Washington tv reporter JC Hayward) give a good sense of the environment in Mississippi, even after the civil rights movement of the 1960s. James Noone's dark wood set, on a revolve, adds to the tense ambience of a courtroom and the young defense attorney's home.
In court, good guys and bad guys do their lawyerly tricks and confront one another while a judge plays referee. In this case, the dry-humored judge (played brilliantly by Evan Thompson) tries to be fair, although his disdain for the prosecutor is not well hidden. It's a memorable vignette.
The plot involves the rape and killing (offstage, mercifully) of a ten-year old girl by two low-life rednecks. The girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey, is an empathetic study in paternal love, loss and a yearning for justice in a system that does not forgive vigilantes. The part is played with enormous sensitivity by Dion Graham, who some will recognize from the tv series, The Wire. As his attorney, Jake Brigance, a star turn by Sebastian Arcelus, is a roller-coaster of emotion. He has the upper hand one moment and loses it the next, both in court and in his personal life.
Two performances, because they are annoying, slow Ethan McSweeney's otherwise well-paced direction. As Ellen Roark, the very ambitious law student trying to be a tough lawyer/femme fatale, Rosie Benton is over the top and unbelievable. Brennan Brown, as Rufus Buckley, the oleaginous District Attorney hoping for a political future, preens and mugs to excess.
"Show""is a good word to describe this stage version of A Time to Kill, because it is highly entertaining. Some of the dialogue is banal and most of the narrative seems formulaic, but it should do well in regional theaters and there's talk of producer Daryl Roth's taking it to New York.
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A Time to Kill By Rupert Holmes, based on John Grisham's novel of the same name. Director, Ethan McSweeny Cast: Sebastian Arcelus (Attorney Jake Brigance); Jeffrey M. Bender (Billy Ray Cobb/Redneck/Dr. Rodeheaver); Rosie Benton (Ellen Roark); Brennan Brown (District Attorney Rufus Buckley); Erin Davie (Carla Jane Brigance); Trena Bolden Fields (Cheryl); Jonathan Lincoln Fried (Stump Simpson/ Dr. W. T. Bass); Dion Graham (Carl Lee Hailey); Deborah Hazlett (Public Defender Drew Tyndale/Cora Cobb); Joe Isenberg (Pete Willard/Co-counsel to the District Attorney); Chiké Johnson (Sheriff Ozzie Walls); Michael Marcan (Deputy Prather); Hugh Nees (Mr. Pate); Evan Thompson (The Honorable Judge Omar Noose); John C. Vennema (Lucien Wilbanks.) Set Designer, James Noone Costume Designer, Karen Perry Lighting Designer, York Kennedy Sound Designer, Lindsay Jones Projection Designer, Jess Sugg Fight Director, David Leong Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes including one intermission. May 6 to June 19 Arena Stage/Kreeger, 1101 Sixth St., SW, Washington, DC; 202-554-9066; www.arenastage.org. Review by Susan Davidson based on May 24, noon matinee performance. |
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