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This evening David and I saw a world premiere of American Son by Christopher Demos-Brown. This is an intensely tragic story of a mixed race family whose son is unaccounted for and may be in the hands of the police. It takes place in a police station in Miami.
Tamara Tunie plays the role of the distraught mother, Kendra Ellis-Connor. Scott Conner, the father who is estranged from his wife, is played by Michael Hayden.
Luke Smith appears as Officer Paul Larkin, a new member of the police force, and André Ware is Lieutenant John Stokes an experienced officer. All members of the cast gave forceful, convincing performances.
Michael Hayden
There are angry interchanges between Kendra and both police officers as well as between her and her ex-husband. Their relationship is cited as part of the problem with the son who has been arrested but about whom they can get little information.
André Ware
Matters of race relations between police and black civilians, of the father's inability to understand the problems his son is facing, the mother's anguish at the change in her son who has been brought up in a mostly white school and environment, and of the red tape one encounters when dealing with the police, all come to a head at the very end when the Lieutenant brings the information that their son has been shot and killed.
This is the final curtain.
There is also much discussion by the Lieutenant of the fact then when an arrest is made the person being arrested should cooperate with the arresting officer. Don't run, don't sass the officer. We have seen how this behavior has resulted in unnecessary killings by police. This is not to say the police are in the right here, but they are the ones who have the law on their side and they have the guns. This is obviously an area where new and better laws must be enacted, to say nothing of stricter gun laws.
It is a lot of pain and suffering to absorb in the ninety minutes the play runs. It certainly had an impact on the audience who were left in shock at the sudden denouement.
Julie Boyd directed the play with her usual deft hand.
Tonight David and I saw His Girl Friday at Barrington Stage directed by Julie Boyd. It was a fun evening featuring Christopher Innvar as Walter Burns and Jane Pfitsch as Hildy Johnson.
Christopher Innvar
The play began life in 1928 as The Front Page, written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (who was the husband of Helen Hayes). It starred Osgood Perkins (father of Anthony Perkins) and Lee Tracy. These roles, which were originally for two men, were changed for the movie when Hildy became a woman and a romantic element was added to the play.There have been several more recent productions of the play in the original form and another film made in 1988.
Jane Pfitsch
In the 1940 movie, the role of Hildy Johnson was changed to a woman, played by Rosalind Russell and that of Walter Burns by Cary Grant. This is the version I am familiar with.
Tonight's performance was based on the movie and is placed in 1939.
An admirable cast romped through the fast-moving action. Both Ms. Pfitsch and Mr. Innvar were very good in their parts. I still have memories of Russell and Grant, and no one will ever replace them in these roles.
Standing out were Peggy Pharr Wilson as Mrs. Baldwin,Anya Whelan Smith as Mollie Malloy, and Mark H. Dold as Bruce Baldwin. The rest of the large cast was excellent.
This is the last Main Stage play of the season. Next week we wind up the summer with Engagements by Lucy Teitler at Stage 2. I felt it was an uneven season.
Tonight Alice, David and I saw an absolutely delicious play at Barrington Stage, Main Stage: Dancing Lessons by Mark St. Germain. Barrington Stage has premiered eight of his plays, many of which I have seen. This was by far the best.
The plot deals with a young man with Asperger's Disorder who calls on his downstairs neighbor, a dancer, for dancing lessons. He has to attend a large party where he will be presented with an award, during which he will be expected to dance.
The dancer has been in a serious car accident and is in a full leg cast. After various negotiations, they begin to know each other. He is very shy and afraid of being touched, she is afraid that she will never dance again.
After numerous meetings they go to bed with each other, his first sexual experience.
The play is funny, sad, deep- all at once. It was especially poignant for David whose son has Asperger's Syndrome.
The two actors were marvelous in their very difficult roles: John Cariani as Evers and Paige Davis as Senga. It was brilliantly directed by Julie Boyd, the artistic director of Barrington Stage.
I think this one is bound for Broadway!
