Snoop's Theatre Thoughts

All My Sons
by Arthur Miller
Directed by Gary Wayne Barker
New Jewish Theatre
March 21, 2024

Kristen Joy Lintvedt, Greg Johnston, Jayson Heil, Amy Loui
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
New Jewish Theatre

All My Sons was Arthur Miller’s first successful play on Broadway, and it has since become a classic of American theatre. I would even argue that it’s one of Miller’s best, even with his body of work including such classics as Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. With such a concentrated focus, as well as such a detailed attention to character and setting, this play presents a prime topic for thought and discussion. Also, as currently staged at New Jewish Theatre under the expert direction of Gary Wayne Barker, it provides a powerful showcase for a cast of superb local performers. 

The story would have been especially current at the time it was first performed in 1947, a little over two years after the end of the Second World War. In fact, it’s inspired by a true incident, although the particulars of the story and characters here are Miller’s invention. The story follows the Keller family in the American Midwest, as patriarch Joe (Greg Johnston), who runs a successful manufacturing plant, lives with his wife Kate (Amy Loui) and adult son Chris (Jayson Heil) in a well-appointed home. Joe’s company made a good profit manufacturing airplane parts during the war, and he intends Chris–an idealistic veteran–to take it over when he retires. Chris, in turn, looks up to his father as an ideal parent, even though Joe has spent time in prison for manufacturing faulty engine parts that caused the crash of 21 fighter planes during the war, although he was officially exonerated and released, and is apparently admired and respected by his neighbors, while his former partner, who was found guilty, remains in prison. 

Chris has recently invited the partner’s daughter, Ann (Kristen Joy Lintvedt)–who grew up nearby but now lives in New York–to stay after they have corresponded for the past two years, and Chris plans to propose, hoping his parents will accept his decision since Ann was previously engaged to Chris’s brother Larry, who was reported Missing in Action during the war, and Kate keeps insisting that he’s still alive and will return someday. As Chris plans to break the news to his mother, Ann’s brother George (Joel Moses) suddenly calls and announces that he’s arriving soon to see Ann with news that threatens to disrupt not only Chris and Ann’s plans, but the peace of the entire family and surrounding neighborhood. Meanwhile, we also get to meet other neighbors in the Kellers’ sphere of influence, including Dr. Jim Bayliss (Joshua Mayfield)–who would rather be doing research but keeps his practice to support his family–and his wife Sue (Zahria Moore), who resents the idealistic Chris’s influence on her husband. There’s also Lydia (Summer Baer), who used to date George but now is married to astrology enthusiast Frank (Riley Capp). 

All these plots are woven together expertly, as Miller’s critique of post-war materialism and the “American Dream” is blended with an urgent moral dilemma to paint a thorough portrait of a family facing a crisis that profoundly affects them personally, as well as their neighbors and the world around them. It’s a brilliant work of drama, and as staged at NJT under Barker’s thoughtful direction, it’s a gripping, challenging, and heartrending tale of intense personal drama with tragic implications. Everything from the symbolism of Larry’s memorial tree being knocked down in a storm just before the action begins, to the building sense of tension as George’s arrival approaches, to the emotionally volatile final scenes, is measured with just the right level of resonance and energy, with profound dramatic effect.

The cast is stellar, with Johnston giving the best performance I’ve seen from him as the proud, initially confident Joe, whose relationships with his family and community are challenged, along with his own world view and sense of worth. Loui also gives a stunning portrayal of the insistently devoted Kate, who refuses to let go of hope for her elder son. Heil is also a force of moral and dramatic strength as Chris, and his scenes with both of his parents, as well as with Lintvedt’s earnest Ann, are highlights. There are also impressive turns from Moses as the insistent George, Mayfield and Moore as the conflicted Jim and Sue; Baer and Capp as the upbeat neighbors Lydia and Frank; and also young Shane Rose as Bert, a local boy who is part of a group of local kids that look up to Joe as a mentor of sorts. 

Technically, the production makes the most of the relatively small space that NJT has to work with, with an impressively detailed set by C. Otis Sweezey that strikes just the right authentic Mid-Century small-town vibe, along with the excellent costumes by Michele Friedman Siler that capture the era with commendable flair. There’s also excellent work from lighting designer Denisse Chavez and sound designer Amanda Werre, with some especially striking special effects in a storm sequence as the play begins. 

All My Sons is a theatrical classic for good reason. It’s message is at once tied to its era and transcendently timeless. It’s one of those plays that speaks to the human experience in such a deep way that it’s bound to provoke much thought and conversation, as well as spawning revivals for many years to come. At New Jewish Theatre, this work has been staged with due excellence. It’s a stunning, intense, and challenging work of theatre.

Zahria Moore, Joshua Mayfield
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
New Jewish Theatre

The New Jewish Theatre is presenting All My Sons at the J’s Wool Studio Theatre until April 7, 2024

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

Copenhagen
by Michael Frayn
Directed by Wayne Salomon
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
February 11, 2024

Joel Moses, Lizi Watt, Aaron Orion Baker
Photo by Patrick Huber
St. Louis Actors’ Studio

Michael Frayn is a versatile playwright. After watching Copenhagen from St. Louis Actors’ Studio, with its complex characterizations and moral, philosophical, and challenging subject matter, I find it somewhat amazing that this comes from the same playwright as the outrageous farce Noises Off! One thing the two plays do have in common, though, is precision. Copenhagen, as directed by Wayne Salomon on stage at STLAS’s Gaslight Theatre, features a complex, precisely structured script that requires much from its actors, who deliver with profound effect in this tightly paced production. It also requires much in the way of thought from its audience, as matters of moral complexity, as well as some intricate matters of philosophy, mathematics, and quantum physics play major roles in this story based on history.

The story follows two well-known physicists, Niels Bohr (Aaron Orion Baker) and Werner Heisenberg (Joel Moses), as well as Bohr’s wife, Margrethe (Lizi Watt), as the three start out existing “out of time”, as sort of ethereal spirits, pondering what happened on a famous day in 1941 when Heisenberg came to Copenhagen to meet with his former mentor, Bohr. Since Heisenberg was working on atomic energy for the German government, and the Bohrs were living in Nazi-occupied Denmark, the tensions are apparent, as the three figures act out various versions of that much-debated meeting. The moral questions revolving around atomic weapons and Heisenberg’s loyalties are brought up again and again, as the physicists also discuss principles of theoretical physics, and reminisce about earlier times, when Heisenberg was a young student learning from Bohr. Emotions run high, as profound questions and life or death issues are debated, and the deep friendship is challenged. While the two physicists are prominent, Margrethe is equally so, as a partner in her husband’s work and an essential participant in the quest to answer the insistent question–“why did Heisenberg go to Copenhagen?”

The relationships are strong and clear, as portrayed by the excellent trio of performers. Moses, as Heisenberg, is a bundle of contradictions and mystery, managing to convey a strong presence in the midst of all the intellectual and moral debates. Baker and Watt make a convincing, united couple as the principled Bohr and determined Margrethe. All three present a believable bond, making the emotional struggle all the more convincing. There are some finer points of physics and theory that might go over some audience members’ heads (like mine, for instance), but in the hands of these first-rate performers and under Salomon’s thoughtful direction, the profundity of this confrontation is made clear even for those who might not be well-versed in the finer points of quantum. physics. 

The set, by Patrick Huber, is a strikingly abstract, slightly off-kilter base for the action, with Huber’s lighting also adding much to the overall tone of the story. There’s also strong work from sound designer Salomon, costume designer Abby Pastorello, and props designer Emma Glose in helping create a world that exists simultaneously in 1941 Copenhagen an on some ethereal plane out of time and space. 

I hadn’t seen this play before, and while I’d heard of Heisenberg and Bohr, I wasn’t particularly familiar with the incident portrayed here. What’s especially compelling about this play, though, is that it still works, even for those who aren’t really “science people”, especially as portrayed here by a trio of first-rate actors at the Gaslight Theater. There’s a lot to think about here, and St. Louis Actors’ Studio has presented about as strong a version of this story as I can imagine. It’s a remarkably compelling production.

St. Louis Actors’ Studio is presenting Copenhagen at the Gaslight Theater until February 25, 2024