PicksInSix Review: Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues - American Blues Theater
Generations Collide in Nostalgic ‘Ragtime Blues’
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton
The fine playwright Charles Smith has written a thoughtful play, “Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues,” now playing through June 29 at American Blues Theater's intimate space on Lincoln Avenue. He has offered up lots of food for considerable thought in what is a deceptively simple premise in this Chicago premiere expertly directed by Chuck Smith. Two characters—one, an elderly vaudevillian who does not want to give up the chase for the next laugh; and the other, a young Black teenager with a great deal of history to deal with, as well as personal anger—are thrown together in a shabby apartment to deal with each of their issues. And there are many.
It all takes place sometime in the 1990s. The fictional comedy team of Pompey and Ollie, who played a minor vaudeville circuit as well as any, are rehearsing an old routine. Pompey (such an elegant performance by ABT Ensemble Member Dennis Cockrum) has forgotten a punchline to a joke that he and Ollie (the wonderfully understated James Sherman) have done thousands of times. This is apparently a pattern of forgetfulness by Pompey, so much so that Ollie decides to break up the act. It all rattles Pompey greatly and he holds anger toward an old friend that is not necessarily justified. What it comes down to is the death of Pompey's style of humor.
Segue to Pompey’s apartment, a rundown and not-well-kept living quarters full of old cans and newspapers and laundry that needs to be done. Three weeks ago, Ollie died unexpectedly, and Pompey is so distraught that he pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot himself. He is saved by a knock on the door from his daughter Marsha (Dawn Bach in a strong offering), who has come by on a rare visit. The predictable argument between the generations is interrupted by another knock on the door. A young Black kid, whose nickname is Jet, has come to tell Marsha that her car is about to be ticketed. Soon it comes out that Marsha and Jet (Justin Banks is pretty riveting throughout) have actually talked about adoption, which upsets Pompey to no end.
Marsha finds a way to finally get out the door to take care of the car by going to the grocery store to get her father some food—all he has are endless cans of SpaghettiOs. So now the meat of the play begins. Pompey and Jet play a unique game of cat-and-mouse in letting little bits of personal story out, while each says that he really doesn't care. Jet's history is quite checkered and difficult. Fourteen different foster families. Endless stays in group homes. His mother died of cancer; his father is in jail for an extended stay because of possession of two joints. Remember this is the early 90s, when laws about marijuana were much stricter, and minorities were overly charged and convicted in such matters.
The strengths in the Smith script are dominant here. The constant tensions that ping-pong back and forth between Pompey and Jet are admirably handled. This could sink into a battle of stereotypes, and it avoids that trap through fun ideas from the playwright's rich, creative arsenal. Pompey and Jet actually toy with the idea that they might partner up and create their own act. But Pompey's jokes are hopelessly outdated, so Jet suggests adapting some blue material from the recordings of Redd Foxx, which are hilarious on their own. We then get the privilege of seeing Pompey react to Jet's sharing in comedic horror. Then there are the highly personal moments. Jet talks painfully of seeing his mother being driven away in an ambulance, while the authorities take him into juvenile custody and, eventually, his first group home. Pompey fights a strong feeling of irrelevance by constantly delving into his bag of show business jokes and details. It's a unique exchange that seems headed toward a kind of happy moment. Until...
And the last ten minutes or so, I will leave for future audiences to discover. Mr. Cockrum is simply grand in his element here as the sad clown who can't find his way to happiness in life. Mr. Sherman appears in moving, ghostly form a couple of times after Ollie's death in Pompey's thoughts to help him find his way. Ms. Bach injects some informed depth into her Marsha, a woman of her time in holding down a job while feeling the attraction, however drawn she is, to a kind of motherhood. Mr. Banks is the real dramatic coin in the ensemble, making sure that Jet's generation is regarded by Pompey as more than a stereotype. In the hands of Mr. Banks, Jet is indeed a real flesh-and-blood young man playing the cards he's been dealt as well as he knows how. And it's all directed with the usual expert eloquence by the wonderful director Chuck Smith. The experience here is noble, nostalgic, achingly personal and deserves all praise.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com Coming soon, his new solo play “Teddy’s Last Ride.”
PHOTO|Michael Brosilow
American Blues Theater
presents
Chicago Premiere
Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues
5627 N Lincoln
through June 29, 2025
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