[NEohioPAL]Berko review: THE FAMILY LIFE (Karamu)

[Roy Berko]

KARAMU STAGES  COUNTY COMMISSIONER PETER LAWSON
JONES’S PLAY

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


Writing a good play is a difficult task.  Directing a
new play, especially for an inexperienced director, is
a difficult task.  Performing in a new play,  with a
novice director, especially when you are an amateur
actor, is a difficult task.  These conditions are all
present in ‘THE FAMILY LINE’ now on stage at Karamu
Theatre.

Peter Lawson Jones is best known locally as a Cuyahoga
County Commissioner.  He is also a Harvard College and
Law School graduate and an aspiring playwright.  His
play, ‘THE FAMILY LINE’ has been produced at Harvard
and Ohio Universities and received a staged-reading at
the East Cleveland Community Theatre.  It has an
interesting premise.  A star black male high school
basketball star sees his way out of the ghetto by
becoming a college phenom and then going on to play in
the pro ranks.  His hopes are dashed when he runs into
a prejudiced college coach and allows this to send him
into a tailspin of self-pity, which not only effect
his own life, but that of his wife and those who
befriend him.

Most plays go through a long period of adjustment in
which a dramaturg, a writer’s workshop and numerous
developmental productions help hone the script and
insure that the dialogue is natural, the plot twists
are well founded, and the concept holds up.   The
script of ‘THE FAMILY LINE,’ with all its strengths,
is still a work-in-progress.  Some of the dialogue is
in written rather than oral style, some of the plot
twists too obvious, and some of the needed emotional
motivations for the actors are missing.  The play
needs some texturing, some humor, some variance of
mood.  

Director Desmond “Storm E” Jones indicates in the
program that this is his directing debut at Karamu
House.  Undertaking to direct is a daunting task.  To
take on a new, untested play is even more difficult. 
He hits some of the notes right, but, the pacing is
extremely slow and the interactions between characters
are sometimes unreal.  Some of the cast spoke lines,
rather than creating meanings.  Some of the staging
was awkward, such as the scenes in the bar.   The fake
food did not help enhance the realism of the
production.  The fight scenes were unrealistic.

Sonia Bishop is one of this area’s better actresses. 
Her portrayal of Sheila, the basketball player Brad’s
wife, was right on key.  The character’s emotions were
clear and her frustration obvious.  Joseph Primes and
Karyn Lewis, as Brad and Sheila’s life-long friends,
also developed well-honed and realistic characters. 
They inter-played well with each other.

Unfortunately, the rest of the cast struggled with
creating real people.  Most of the time it was obvious
they were acting, not reacting to the lines’ concepts
and each other.   They often lacked believability. 
Director Jones needed to work more with the cast
members to create reality, not just say memorized
lines.

Talented Scenic designer Richard H. Morris, Jr. has
constructed two realistic side-by-side sets. 
Unfortunately, they both looked too chic, too modern,
too well furnished and appointed to be that of a
financially struggling young couple and a seedy bar. 
He could have helped the director by placing the
dining room table on a platform behind the couch, thus
eliminating an awkward scene change.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Karamu should be commended for
giving a voice to a new work.  Though the quality was
not soaring, there is a place in the theatre for
giving a voice to new playwrights, directors and
performers, and Karamu fulfilled that need with this
production.

‘THE FAMILY LIFE’ runs through November 20 at Karamu
Theatre, East 89th Street in Cleveland. For tickets
call 216-795-7070.


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.


	
		
__________________________________ 
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 
http://mail.yahoo.com