[NEohioPAL]Berko review: TOPDOG UNDERDOG (Beck)

[Roy Berko]

Disturbing ‘Topdog Underdog’ at Beck Center

Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


Early in her writing career The New York Times dubbed
Suzan-Lori Parks, the author of ‘TOPDOG UNDERDOG’ now
on stage at Beck Center, "the year's most promising
new playwright." Since then she has gone on to become
one of America’s premiere screen and stage writers.  
Her play ’IN THE BLOOD’ was nominated for the Pulitzer
Prize.  ‘TOPDOG UNDERDOG’ won that prestigious prize. 


Alphine Jefferson, the Dramaturge for Beck Center’s
‘TOPDOG UNDERDOG’ states in the show’s playbill, “This
is not a ‘Black’ play.  This is not an ‘African
American’ play.”  The writer goes on to state that the
play is about the ‘determination to overcome the
past.”  I disagree with all of those concepts.  I
think it is a brilliant “Black” play, I think it is a
play which speaks to the “African American” community.
 I didn’t perceive any attempt to “overcome the past.”
 

Park’s play, which includes both drama and humor, uses
the framework of sibling rivalry, with its mix of love
and jealousies, to examine urban African American
existence.  Building on the broken family, get rich
quick schemes, lack of reality, not taking long term
consequences into consideration but satisfying present
day desires, she exposes raw nerves that only those
who are familiar with the life can totally appreciate.
 This appeared obvious on opening night as the
interracial audience seemed to react from their
backgrounds.  While Caucasians generally sat politely
and observed.  Many of the African American viewers
orally voiced opinions, laughed at “in jokes” they
shared with the playwright, and gave the production a
standing ovation.  

The primary recurring theme in the play is the game of
Three Card Monty.  This is the shill-game often seen
on street corners in urban areas.  It is played by
flipping three cards and getting someone in the
vicinity to bet on where the sole black card is
located.   Lincoln, once a hustler, had used the
profits from this con game to keep himself and his
brother out of poverty. Lincoln has since reformed,
but Booth wants the once-plentiful income to continue,
so he begins practicing the Three Card Monty routine,
while stealing to make ends meet.  Throughout the play
he urges his brother to revert to his scamming days
or, at least, teach him the routine.

Parks has wisely chosen the title of the play.  If a
person is on top, then someone is on the bottom.  
There has to be a winner and a loser.  In Three Card
Monty one person, the top dog, wins.  The other loses.
 This also corresponds to our society, the land of the
haves and have-nots.  Lincoln and Booth are both
have-nots, as is much of the African American
community.  Some of those issues smacked all Americans
on the side of the head with the recent revelations of
living and social conditions of the survivors of
hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  

Some reviewers complained that by naming the
characters Lincoln and Booth the play’s conclusion is
precast and therefore predictable.  So what?  We know
where the train wreck is heading and it does the
expected.  This is not a mystery in which we have to
guess the killer’s identity.  This is not a fantasy
which leads us down paths to the unknown.  The author
wanted to alleviate the guess work and center on
character development and investigation of societal
issues.  I believe she did that with clarity. 

Don’t assume this is a perfectly written play.  It is
not.  The script has too many words.  Some of those
could have been cut without losing much effect.  But,
given the script, director Dale Sheilds has directed
the play for maximum effect.  He is blessed with two
brilliant actors.  Both Ed Blunt and Jimmie D. Woody
are superb.  They never lose their characters.  They
were often mesmerizing.  At no time could one’s
attention be drawn away from the stage.  

Blunt, as the wiser Lincoln, is a study in control and
precision.  He is  alternately despondent and wickedly
sharp, often in the same moment. Woody’s Booth, who is
younger and more given to impulse, is developed with
pinpoint accuracy.  The chemistry between the two is
spellbinding.

Don McBride has created a perfect shabby
claustrophobic room.  It sets the proper mood.  Deanna
Cechowki’s costumes, especially the suits that Booth
has stolen, often lack the sharpness that “cool” Black
men would wear, but are serviceable.  

Capsule Judgment:   ‘TOPDOG UNDERDOG’ is a powerful,
if overlong play.  It is well directed and acted by
the cast at Beck Center.  It is a production well
worth seeing. 

For tickets to ‘TOPDOG UNDERDOG’ which runs through
October 23 at the Beck Center for the Arts, call
216-521-2540.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


		
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