Wedding Band
by Alice Childress
Directed by Geovonday Jones
The Black Rep
March 15, 2024
Jeff Cummings, Jacqueline Thompson
Photo by Keshon Campbell
The Black Rep
The Black Rep’s latest production is a compelling look at life in the segregated South in the second decade of the 20th Century. Alice Childress’s Wedding Band centers around a romantic relationship between a Black woman, but it also looks at a variety of issues and events, including the First World War, the flu pandemic, and general societal attitudes and laws regarding race, social class, and expected societal roles in 1918 South Carolina. As is usual for the Black Rep, the cast and technical qualities are excellent, making for a remarkable and thought-provoking production.
The play presents a vivid, highly personal portrait of life in the American South during World War I, focusing primarily on a group of Black women who live in a group of small houses in a back yard owned by landlady Fanny (Velma Austin). The newest resident, Julia (Jacqueline Thompson) keeps an air of mystery about her at first, arousing the curiosity of her neighbors, including young mother Mattie (Christina Yancey)–who is raising her daughter Teeta (Vivian Helena Himes) and looking after a young white girl, Princess (Lucy Miller), while her husband is away at sea; and Lula (Tamara Thomas), whose adopted son, Nelson (Christian Kitchens) is home on leave from the Army, but is getting ready to go back to war. Julia soon reveals that she is in a relationship with Herman (Jeff Cummings), a white baker with whom she has been involved for ten years, and although he has been able to maintain his bakeshop and live in the same area for the last decade, Julia has had to move around to avoid social scrutiny and hostility. While the two celebrate their “anniversary”, they lament the fact that they can’t legally marry, and dream of moving to somewhere where they can be officially wed, while Herman’s family, including his mother (Kari Ely) and sister Annabelle (Ellie Schwetye) try to pressure him to marry a white widow. Meanwhile, the town gets ready for a local military parade, and personal matters grow more complicated when Herman comes down with the flu while he is at Julia’s house.
The script is remarkably detailed and specific, painting a clear portrait of its well-drawn characters, and especially the Black women who deal with a variety of issues stemming from having to live according to rigidly enforced social rules–including where and how they are allowed to live, marry, and seek employment, while also being exploited and extorted by a white traveling salesman known as “the Bell Man” (Isaiah Di Lorenzo) and others. Still, in the midst of their struggles and the oppressive society, the characters’ strength is made clear, as is their growing bond and determination despite the adversity.
The cast is uniformly excellent, led by Thompson as the initially reticent but increasingly bold Julia, as well as Yancey and Thomas in memorable performances as Mattie and Lula, along with Kitchens and Austin in strong support, with impressive performances from young Himes and Miller as Teeta and Princess. Cummings also gives a strong performance as Herman, who clearly loves Julia but struggles with his own attitudes as a result of growing up in a privileged position. Ely, as Herman’s imperious and demanding mother, is also convincing, as is Schwetye, who manages to portray a credible mixture of entitlement and fear as Annabel. The cohesive ensemble chemistry, especially in portraying the growing bond among the backyard residents, is a real highlight of this production.
The overall atmosphere and authentic air of this show is well maintained by means of Chris Cumberbatch’s detailed set and Andre Harrington’s meticulously designed costumes. There’s also excellent lighting by Zak Metalsky, sound by Kareem Deanes, and props by by Mikhail Lynn, contributing to the overall sense of time, place, and mood.
Wedding Band is another great example of theatrical excellence from the Black Rep. It has a clear sense of character, setting, and theme, as well as featuring a stellar cast and memorable production design. It works especially well at COCA’s Berges Theatre, with a more intimate setting for this emotional, highly personal story.
Tamara Thomas, Jacqueline Thompson, Christina Yancey
Photo by Keshon Campbell
The Black Rep
The Black Rep is presenting Wedding Band at COCA’s Catherine B. Berges Theatre until March 31, 2024
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