PicksInSix Review: East Texas Hot Links - Court Theatre

Articulate, Impactful ‘East Texas Hot Links’
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

There is a stellar production of Eugene Lee’s signature play “East Texas Hot Links” playing now at Court Theatre in Chicago through September 29. It is an articulate, impactful play that echoes in one’s mind long after the curtain comes down in its eloquent and painful comment on the remnants of the civil rights movement in America, how it continues to resonate and affect so many of our societal mores.  It bears the unmistakable stamp of the great director Ron OJ Parson, who has a relationship with this piece that forces us, in its sheer professionalism alone, to see an unencumbered view of what Jim Crow has done to our world and continues to do today.

Imagine the mid-1950s in the South—in this case, east Texas—at a small café/saloon back in the “piney woods.”  We are privy to a group of folks who all know each other, whose familiarity is not just palpable, it’s vital for the telling of this story. And this production offers one of the finest presentations of true ensemble acting we will ever see.  The intimate banter, the intuitive approaches in character, the story’s roadmap that is laid out for the cast, enhancing each actor’s planting of their artistic feet by literally grabbing and shaking us. It’s as hard as anything we may have seen in recent seasons at Court.  And it’s all couched in, yes, the love that people can have for each other by pointing out the bad and raising high the good in us.

This cast. The play begins with Kelvin Roston Jr., a Court favorite, as Roy, a man whose checkered past (a trait shared by others here) has made him look at starting over in a more productive way. He’s always had a huge attraction for the owner/bartender Charlesetta (a glowing AnJi White), who keeps him and all the men in the bar constantly at bay. There’s Adolph (Willie B. in a strong portrayal), a blind philosopher of sorts whose gravitas helps steer the conversation. Beside him at his table is Columbus (Alfred H. Wilson is a compelling influence) whose ownership of property gives him a more telling voice.

There’s the formidable AC Smith whose hustler/fortune teller Broochie dominates the story halfway through by a simple reading of the palm of Delmus (a naïve young man given wonderful shrift by David Dowd), a kid with big dreams and plans. Then there’s Buckshot (a dark and yet emotionally delicate performance by Geno Walker) who’s just gotten out of jail and simply trying to find his way.  And there’s Juwan Lockett in a defining portrayal as XL, a man whose instinct for survival overpowers his sense of decency and responsibility to his friends and family.

Little by little, the silence at the beginning of the play—one that is held to observe for a reason—gives way to exchanges between characters that make you listen to the words, other times to their rhythms, all the time to the presence and power of the voices. With the specter of the Klan exerting power all through it, director Parson deftly handles the intensity with the skill of a surgeon. This kind of story telling is indeed his specialty and it’s marvelous to watch.  And it’s a simple, highly effective Jack Magaw set design, this small tavern that offers big story. It’s highly complimented by a soft, layered lighting design from Jason Lynch.

Let us also remember that the setting and locale for “East Texas Hot Links” lives in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education and Emmitt Till and Rosa Parks and the emergence of MLK in the public eye. This is not just Black history, but American history, no matter any regard for political expedience. These characters are etched so well within these creative walls by Mr. Lee, an August Wilson disciple and accomplished actor/writer in his own right, and expertly guided by Mr. Parson to the ultimate surprise at the end of the play.  Well, unfortunately not a surprise to all, as you will see.  

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 “Echo Holler.” www.echoholler.com

PHOTO|Michael Brosilow

COURT THEATRE
presents
East Texas Hot Links
5535 S Ellis Ave.
through September 29, 2023

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PicksInSix Review: A SOLDIER'S PLAY - Broadway in Chicago

Fistfuls of alternating power and hate.
Guest Contributor Ronald Keaton|PicksInSix® Review

“They still hate you!”  The words ring out as the first moments in witnessing a murder. They are accompanied by a seeming prisoner’s work song from soldiers in an impressionistic barracks– the set piece of the painful, eloquent “A Soldier’s Play,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by American playwright Charles Fuller, whom we lost last October.  And it’s all deftly staged by the marvelous director Kenny Leon and now revived through Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2020 Tony Award-winning production on tour throughout North America and at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre through April 16.

It’s a phrase with a fatalistic implication, as uttered by a drunken Sergeant Vernon C. Waters (a masterful presence throughout by Eugene Lee) from the 2nd floor of a US Army barracks set design by Derek McLane.  It’s stark and hazy, both at once, reflective of a time (the Deep South in Louisiana during World War II) that shows how stunningly small the progress for the civil rights movement in America was in its segregated military from the Civil War to these moments.

Captain Richard Davenport (a stylish, emotional Norm Lewis), a Black Army officer, has been sent to Fort Neal, Louisiana, to investigate the killing. He is received at first with mocking and almost disbelief by Captain Charles Taylor (William Connell), who expresses his displeasure with Davenport questioning anyone, no matter their race, because of their low regard in a military placed in the old Confederacy…A Black officer?  AND a lawyer?  Indeed, the initial suspects are local Klansmen. Then later on, two bigoted white soldiers (strong turns by Matthew Goodrich and Chattan Mayes Johnson) fall under Davenport’s suspicion.

The story is told in atmospheric flashback sequences, as Davenport’s piercing questions create memories for the audience to absorb, through each man’s story in the unit being questioned. Sgt. Waters–ambitious, of strong intellect and self-regard–treated the soldiers in his unit as almost sub-standard, making them fit into the stereotypes he views as “holding our race back.”  But in that same regard, he belatedly realizes in his drunken state that his white ‘superiors’ will never allow him his equality, no matter how much he might emulate their own behavior and attitudes.  For those actions and his persecution of the soldiers he commands, Waters is murdered while uttering his own death knell–they do still hate him.  All of them.

Mr. Lewis offers a strong military man who is not afraid to take charge of the investigation.  His Davenport acts also as a kind of gentle, principled narrator who guides us through the maze of this complex tale.  Mr. Lee is magnetic and grabs his moments in fistfuls of alternating power and hate.  Mr. Connell’s Captain Taylor is properly doubtful and disdaining.  For this writer, the strength of the story lies with the men in the barracks.  The one modicum of respect given them (if one can call it that) is that all these men are baseball players from the Negro Leagues, and they play ball against white teams every Saturday during the season.  They are skilled athletes who fiercely bond together in that baseball experience, even as Waters denigrates them for doing so.  Our eyes and hearts are drawn to the wonderful Sheldon D. Brown as CJ Memphis, a gentle and pure soul who is driven to suicide and a fine, prickly Tarik Lowe as Peterson, who challenges Waters with his own misguided passions.  There is a host of clear, articulate characterizations from a topnotch ensemble of artists–Howard Overshown, Branden Davon Lindsey, Malik Esoj Childs, Alex Michael Givens, and Will Adams.

A SOLDIER’S PLAY - at the CIBC Theatre through April 16, 2023. Broadway in Chicago

As the albatross around the country’s neck, the battle of racism in America continues as a piercing-hot specter to face, to understand and to deal with in all its forms.  Mr. Fuller’s forceful, passionate prose makes us do so with issues that still tragically ring true in our contemporary world.  Mr. Leon, one of our great theatre craftsmen, shows us in his wily direction straight-on how such issues stand up and make us stare. And wonder.  And in moments good and bad, take action to address.  A full experience here to view for us all.

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 “Echo Holler.” www.echoholler.com

PHOTO|Joan Marcus

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
A SOLDIER’S PLAY
CIBC Theatre
through April 16, 2023

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WEBSITE

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC