BWW Reviews: YELLOWMAN at the Rep Stage in Columbia is Simply Superb
By: Charles Shubow Feb. 17, 2012
For 19 years the Rep Stage has been a professional Equity theatre at Howard Community College. It is tucked into a gorgeous Horowitz Visual and Performance Arts Center located on the huge campus . It's a little tough to find but there's a brand new free parking garage available across from the theater.
But I wish it was at a location, maybe near the big Columbia Mall, with big neon signs and huge posters of their presentations so that the uninformed public could see what tremendous things happen there.
Back to reality. How about some sort of marquee with flashing light bulbs at the entrance of HCC to let the community know what's going on. But this IS Columbia. Signs are a problem. Sorry to say, one must trek to HCC, drive along a long and winding road hoping to locate the Studio Theatre where Yellowman is getting an inspired presentation. But, the trek is worth the trip. It is seeing productions like this that make me so happy and proud that I have the privilege to help spread the word about a show that is so worth seeing.
I remember reading about Yellowman when it was first presented at the Manhattan Theater Club where the playwright, Dael Orlandersmith, played the part of "Alma". The topic of intraracial prejudice has always fascintated me. I also recall it was a Pulitzer Prize Award finalist.
It is set in the second half of the 20th century but the problems of today go way back to the 18th century slave populatoin in the eastern region of South Carolina where the slave culture known as Gullah, Geechee, or Sea Island Creole flourished.
The premise of the play revolves around the fact that in the Gullah culture, light-skinned African-Americans were afforded more opportunities than their dark-skinned brothers. Those with darker skin were less likely to assimilate into the white culture. According to Production Dramaturg Alan Balch, "This disparity facilitated resentment, anger, and stereotypes." And that resentment and anger is front and center in Yellowman.
The two character play follows the young life of Alma (given a strong performance by Kelly Renee Armstrong) who lives with her drunken unwed mother on a small farm, is poor, heavy, and dark-skinned.
Alma begins a long relationship when she was very young with Eugene (played by the talented Jon Hudson Odom), a light-skinned boy who lived in the "city", was well-off, and also had a drunken but married light-skinned mother, and a father who was dark-skinned.
Each of the two characters plays multiple parts under the inspired direction of the Rep Stage Artistic Director Kasi Campbell. It is Campbell who has these talented characters move so effortlessly between characters from childhood to young adults.
Alma and Eugene begin playing together when Eugene is in the 4th grade while Alma is in the 2nd grade. They love to play "Batman and Robin".
Then Eugene hits puberty at 16 as does Alma at 14. Things change between them. But what doesn't change is how the world around them continues to make them notice their skin color.
Alma is accepted to Hunter College in New York and arrives in the big city with great anticipation.
Eugene is following the footsteps of his Grandfather and Father who got him a job with the Georgia-Pacific Railroad in the lumber yard.
Alma and Eugene are naive to the fact that the world around them is not accepting them, especially their respective families.
Everyone in the play is abused in some way. Everyone has an ax to grind. The poor drink gin. The rich drink bourbon. Liquor is used as an anaesthetic to get them all through the pain of life. It's therapeutic.
When Eugene is left the home of his light-skinned grandfather, Eugene's father explodes. There's a confrontation between them. The fight between Eugene and his father is marvelously choreographed. You see one actor on stage but you can feel the punches thrown from both father and son that ends tragically. Odom does an amazing job.
Dan Covey's photographic projections add to the envirenment of the play which features only two chairs and the portions of a roof on both sides of the stage. But's that's all you need.
Nancy Krebs is the Dialect Coach was has done a superb job while Jenny Male is responsbile for the terrific fight movements.
The play runs two hours without an intermission but you'll never look at your watch.
Yellowman plays until February 26. For tickets call 443-518-1500 or visit www.repstage.org.
There's a Pre-Show Lecture by Dramaturg Alan Balch Feb. 25 at 12:30 p.m. and is free in the Monteabara Recital Hall.
The playwright is working on the screenplay at Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
Coming next to the Rep Stage is Las Meninas by Lynn Nottage April 18 to May 6, 2012.
Also coming to Howard Community College is the smash hit musical Urinetown running May 3-13 at the Smith Theatre put on by the HCC Arts Collective.
Photo Credit: Stan Barouh
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