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‘West’ flys into NBAF
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW: “Flyin’ West.” Through July 31.
In Pearl Cleage’s “Flyin’ West,” a covey of strong-willed women flee the Jim Crow South for the Kansas heartland. Armed with guns, pride and the fierceness of the frontier spirit, they’re determined to forge nothing less than a black utopia.
No more slavery. No more lynchings. Just plenty of hard work and the promise of peace, prosperity and happiness.
But just as soon as Miss Leah, Sophie and Fannie get their pots and plows in a row, they realize the good life ain’t so simple. Nicodemus, Kan., may seem like paradise compared with Memphis, but these women are about to discover a strain of prejudice as vile as anything they encountered in the white man’s world.
“Flyin’ West” —- which True Colors Theatre is reviving in partnership with the National Black Arts Festival —- is about a community coming to grips with the enemy within. First seen at the Alliance Theatre in 1992, it’s a history-based tale about African-American settlers who took advantage of the free farmland offered by the Homestead Act of 1862.
Though the popular comedy-drama has the transparent plotting of a potboiler from Hollywood’s golden age and the laugh-track pacing of a TV sitcom, it succeeds as a deliciously entertaining ensemble piece that uses rich characterizations to put across a political message. “Flyin’ West” may have a deficit of nuance and irony, but Cleage is a foolproof storyteller with great affection for her vividly drawn characters.
Start with Sophie Washington (Crystal Fox), the unsentimental Annie Oakley-style gal who carries a shotgun and makes the world’s worst coffee. Sophie is the backbone of the household populated by the ancient Miss Leah (Pat Bowie) and squeaky schoolmarm Fannie Dove (Dawn Ursula). It’s a testament to Fox’s intelligence as an actress that Sophie’s intensity sneaks up on us.
A former slave who’s lost all her children and grandchildren, Miss Leah has glimmers of August Wilson’s Aunt Esther and Cheryl West’s MaDear (which Bowie played, divinely, in the Alliance’s “Jar the Floor” in 2002). An actress who’s had an impressive career on both sides of the Atlantic, Bowie again gives a knockout performance, this time as an adorably cantankerous matriarch who makes killer apple pie.
Fannie’s suitor is a gentle, homespun man named Wil Parish (E. Roger Mitchell), who’s the exact opposite of Frank Charles (Paul Nicholas), the uppity poet husband of Fannie’s younger sister, Minnie (Kinnik). When Minnie and Frank arrive from London, the trouble begins.
A self-described “mulatto,” Frank drinks and gambles too much and threatens to steal his wife’s inheritance. Dandy and debonair, Frank might be nothing more than a narcissistic caricature, but his greed and self-loathing eventually get the best of him. This internal racism is what drives the story to its inevitable conclusion.
The action unfolds in and around scenic designer R. Paul Thomason’s skeletal prairie cabin, which almost threatens to disappear on the cavernous Alliance stage. Better serving the play are Reggie Ray’s beautiful period costumes, which are wisely chosen to impart information about the people who inhabit them.
Cleage, who seems to have been influenced by everyone from Willa Cather to Alice Walker, is neither a virtuosic dramatist like Wilson nor a theatrical visionary like Suzan-Lori Parks. But as director Andrea Frye makes clear in this impeccably crafted production, Cleage finds laughter in the tears —- and grace in the most horrific situations.
“Flyin’ West” is certain to be the crown jewel of this year’s NBAF.
THE VERDICT: A splendid revival.
THE 411: 8 tonight-Friday and July 27-30; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday and July 31; 7 p.m. Tuesday. Through July 31. $29-$43. True Colors Theatre, Alliance Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-5000, www.truecolorstheatrecompany.com
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By Barbara
July 22, 2005 1:50 PM | Link to this
Wonderful! I laughed so hard! Miss Sophie sure reminded me of the women in my family. I saw at least 10 wonderful relatives in her. This was an evening NOT TO BE MISSED!