An Unheroic Return

Back from the Round House Theatre production of Suzan-Lori Parks's epic Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2, and 3) (and hoping that parts 4, 5, and 6 aren't all prequels). What a great production--certainly among the best offerings from RHT.

This Civil War recasting of the Ulysses tale humanizes the myth through characters that are flawed, loyal to (or betraying) all the wrong people, with the hero of the story, Hero (JaBen Early), carrying the weight of the most flaws and weaknesses.

The second part of the play deals most directly with the racial issues we still confront today, as Hero follows his master (Tim Getman) into battle on the promise that "boss-master" will free him for his service. It's pretty clear the despicable boss-master won't do it, so Hero's hope and loyalty--and ever-present Hamlet-like indecision about running away--are incomprehensible (at least until Part 3).

In this section Getman delivers a speech that made the largely white suburban audience (her own self included) very uncomfortable--it's the Southern Colonel slave-owner's confession to his Union captain prisoner (Michael Kevin Darnall) that he's thankful he is white. On the surface, it is clearly an assertion of superiority. But Parks's language and Getman's delivery of it is more nuanced: The reason he is thankful, boss-master says without irony, is that the black man's life is so miserable. Well, duh. Who wants to be miserable? He of course takes no responsibility for being the cause of that misery.

(From left) Michael Kevin Darnall, Tim Getman, JaBen Early, in Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3). Image: Round House Theatre via Facebook.

Also in Part 2, the Union captain prisoner tries to convince his Confederate, slave-owning captor that he cannot even imagine owning other humans. But [SPOILER ALERT] the fact that this Yankee is not actually white, but passing as white (and also passing as a captain rather than a private) leaves no opportunity for white redemption. That's a bit disappointing, I'll confess.

Part 3 makes some of Hero's (now Ulysses's) decisions clear, but not all of them. He's a flawed human. To lighten things up, and in true Shakespearean manner, Parks's provides us with a "funny bit with a dog," who turns out to be the story's moral touchstone. Maybe true unquestioning loyalty really is just a dog thing.

And I'll give a shout out to one of the best voices in Washington, Craig Wallace as "Oldest Old Man," Hero's father-figure in Part 1 (and taking a surprising second role in Part 3 I won't spoil).

Craig Wallace. Image: Round House Theatre via Facebook.

Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Timothy Douglas
Round House Theatre, Bethesda, Maryland, through Feb. 21, 2016.

Cast
Hero: JaBen Early 
Penny: Valeka J. Holt
Oldest Old Man, Odysseus: Craig Wallace
Homer: Kenyatta Rogers 
Colonel in the Rebel Army: Tim Getman
Smith, a captive Union soldier: Michael Kevin Darnall
slaves: Jefferson A. Russell, Jon Hudson Odom, Stori Ayers, Ian Anthony Coleman
Musician: Memphis Gold

Theaters' History Lessons

The subtitle of this blog is "Subjugation Fails."

My three most-recent outings to the theater were:

1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at Round House (closes April 26)
2. The Civil War at Ford's (through May 24)
3. Ragtime at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater (through May 17)

Of these, obviously Civil War and Ragtime have more in common thematically, and also structurally, but Cuckoo's Nest illustrates the historical point very clearly: subjugation of one group (in this case the mentally ill) because it does not fit in with what is deemed normal (so deemed by those in power) is immoral and destined to fail.

Civil War, more concert than play (I would call it a concert with stagecraft and some acting, but no plot--more of a live montage), presents the human impacts of the war from a variety of points of view, including the words of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. It ends with a montage projected on the backdrop bringing the history of civil rights up to the present. Obviously a rushed and abridged edition; the imagery used is iconic but conveys the most meaning to those who already know their history.

My favorite part of that production was the fact that it took place in Ford's Theatre (hee! Not a good seat in the house, though the chairs themselves have been improved). The famous box where Lincoln sat (with a portrait of Washington hanging in front) was lit up whenever Lincoln's words were read aloud, and the singers/characters turned to "watch" him. I could almost imagine Lincoln standing and nodding in acknowledgement of the performers.



Ragtime got to have my expectations lowered thanks to the Washington Post story ("Reduced Ragtime") about how the production values have been diminished since its 1998 Broadway and heavily Tony-nominated production. That was the age of overproduction, so truthfully it wasn't that big a deal to me. The touring set is impressive enough, with multiple tiers of metal railroad-station platforms surrounding three-fourths of the stage.

This also gave the feeling of America always being on the go. Like with Civil War, the show seemed more pageantry than history, as though these important events could only be reduced to an outline--or a skeleton, whose meat is provided by the strength of the performers and their connection to the audience.

The story of struggle against subjugation and for the liberation of creativity is a compelling one, and all three of these shows grabbed me by the heart.

And for those of you who count such things, all three shows got standing ovations for the performances I attended: A Thursday night preview, a Sunday matinee, and a Sunday night, respectively.

love, hosaa
waiting for the next curtain to rise

P.S. Update on the Box issue. I may go back to Box after all. The non-box version of Comcast no longer carries Show Tunes on the Music Choice channels. Crap.