True Colors Theatre Company Scores with Lesser-known Comedy/Drama

By Sr. Correspondent,  D. Kevin McNeir

Playwright Philip Hayes Dean won the New York Drama Desk award in 1971 for his mind-blowing, mesmerizing comedic drama Sty of the Blind Pig and while some theater lovers may be unfamiliar with this piece, its powerful prose and the poignant performances from a talented cast are two reasons that True Colors Theatre Company's season opener is a definite hit.
The play opens slowly, with the strong but opinionated matriarch Weedy Warren (Margo Moorer) patiently waiting for her still-single daughter Alberta (Tonia Jackson) to arrive home from her frustrating maid's job.

The two live in a crumbling apartment on Chicago's Southside. And Weedy is worried because as usual, Alberta is late. But as we soon discover, despite her faith and zeal for the church, she enjoys worrying - sometimes about her daughter, other times about her flamboyant, "whiskey head" brother Doc (Earl Billings) who consistently begs her for money to play the numbers and has a penchant for much younger girls.


 

The banter between Weedy and Doc goes on throughout the play, moving the audience from moments of light chuckling to outright hysteric laughter. Those less familiar with Black culture may not get some of the jokes and jabs, but with two parents from the South, this writer not only followed the dialogue but at times remembered hearing his own family engage in such diatribes of the "dozens."

Alberta, however, does not fare well in this 50s household, constantly suffering from bouts of anxiety and depression - even succumbing to the bottle to help her deal with a life that is unraveling before her eyes.

But when a knock on the door reveals the handsome, guitar-playing Blind Jordan (Jahi Kearse), on a mission from New Orleans in his search for a woman he says he once loved, the lives of this slightly troubled family are changed forever. And the change is anything but positive.

Dean blends the history of the 50s into his play with ingenious fashion, interweaving the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott which would usher in the start of America's civil rights movement. So while it is a moment in time pregnant with the possibility for change, Alberta, Weedy and Doc remain "paralyzed" by their own demons. And as we discover in the second half, much to the dismay of the now love struck Alberta, Blind Jordan has some disturbing skeletons of his own that he would prefer to remain in the closet.

Moorer is magnificent in her role as the obnoxious mother dominating the first half of the play with her witty remarks and perfect timing. She is simply a delight to watch. But in an almost frightful monologue, Alberta takes things to an even higher level when she relives the funeral of her unrequited love.

The scene comes out of nowhere - a trademark of the award-winning playwright - ultimately revealing the sexual frustration of Alberta and making her easy prey for the smooth talking Jordan. She leaps and trembles, speaks in tongues and then, yields to Jordan's touch.

Billlings is a perfect addition to the ensemble and is clearly comfortable with life as a thespian, handling Alberta's criticisms in a number of hilarious scenes before revealing his own painful fears when he runs to his sister's aide after barely surviving a beating and attempted robbery. Billings is the product of the famed Cleveland-based Karamu House Theater - an organization that GBMNews will spotlight in the coming weeks.

Kudos go out to Director Andrea Frye and True Colors Artistic Director Kenny Leon for a job well done. If you're looking for a play that will make you laugh and force you to think, then this is a great choice.

For more information go to www.truecolorstheatre.org. The show runs through November 1st at the Southwest Arts Center, recently selected by Creative Loafing as Atlanta's Best New Venue.

The season will continue with Langston Hughes' holiday classic "Black Nativity," Pulitzer Prize winner "Our Time" in a multi-cultural interpretation directed by Leon and conclude with August Wilson's "Jitney" directed by Derrick Sanders, artistic director at Chicago's Congo Square Theatre. It promises to be an exciting sixth season.