By James V. Ruocco
"My family, my ancestry, is a tree of small rivers. Roots filled with lakes of memory. So, while I grew up in a landlocked environment the family was an ocean."
In life, we ride waves. We grow. We question. We travel. We confront. We react. We also band together for causes we believe in.
In Christina Anderson's new play "the ripple, the wave that carried me home," the fight to integrate swimming pools in the suburban town of Beacon, Kansas is just one of the many issues addressed in this bold, interesting, but overlong and talky work about race, prejudice, political inheritance, gendered abuse, endorsement, dysfunction, reconciliation and the constant, lyrical shifts of water that change and solidify our existence.
To Anderson's credit, the language is beautiful.
The characters, the narrated flashbacks, the humor, the drama, the heartache, the healing and the hard-fought battles unfold with truth, resonance and celebration.
Yet something is missing.
In assessing the magnitude of problems that Black Americans face, Anderson, though knowledgeable and resourceful, sometimes hits a roadblock that interrupts the action, brings it to a halt or fails, if only fleetingly, to propel the narrative action forward.
There's no mistaking that Anderson, as playwright, has lots to say, and say it she does. But sometimes, there's just too much of it - the narration, for example. Or, as the play evolves, certain issue-oriented moments, get lost in the translation.
Moreover, what, are we, as an audience supposed to be feeling?
Often, we either remain outside the action or simply sit back knowing that we are watching a play that's being performed by four different actors. In turn, the immersive actor-audience experience that Anderson tries to create is often nowhere to be found. Or simply, at odds with the storytelling.
At Yale Rep, "the ripple, the wave that carried me home" is dramatized with plenty of angst, soul-searching, influence, motivation and thematic passion. Emmie Finckel's atmospheric set impresses. Alan C. Edwards' lighting and projections by Henry Rodriguiez heighten and production's splendid sense of metaphoric imagery and remembrance. And Aidan Griffith's colorful period costumes are very beautiful to look at.
Staging Anderson's memory play, Tamilla Woodard works hard to bring the story to life and dramatically address the issues prevalent in Anderson's complex, rambling play text without being overly preachy or melodramatic. Directorially, she moves the story through the decades (the 1960s through the 1990s) with purpose, striving valiantly to make a point even when the script works against her or temporarily leaves her in limbo.
Regardless, she plunges forward hoping to pull the audience in and let them experience the drama, the ebb, the tides and the flow of Anderson's study and its illustrated rage, trauma, racism and testimony.
Throughout the play, there are sprinkles and dashes of honesty, resonance and well-stated opinion. But things come and go. The ending, however, is a leap of joy, celebration and redemption. Here, Woodard places the three main characters, dressed in bathing suits, singing, dancing, wading, swimming and slashing about playfully to the beat of musical aerobics. It's a stirring, committed moment of vibe and shimmer, energized with a hypnotic playfulness that works most engagingly as the action draws to a close.
"the ripple, the way that carried me home" stars Jennean Farmer as Janice, Chalia La Tour as Helen, Adrienne S. Wells as Gayle and Young Chipper Ambitious Black Woman and Marcus Henderson as Edwin.
As Janice, Farmer effectively portrays the various stages of her character's life with command and commitment. She also does her best to pique interest when asked to narrate the play and plow through Anderson's overlong exposition.
In the roles of Janice's parents, Helen and Edwin, La Tour and Henderson fill their respective roles nicely. Wells, however, steals the show. Playing the dual roles of Aunt Gayle and Young Chipper Black Woman, Wells slides back and forth from comedy to drama with depth, commitment and enthusiasm. Her chameleon-like transformation is so charged and effectively ready, there are times when it appears that two different actresses and playing the part - not one.
Photos courtesy of Joan Marcus.
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