[NEohioPAL] Review of "The Great White Hope" at Karamu House

[Bob Abelman]

High hopes for Karamu production get knocked out

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald 3/5/10

 

Howard Sackler's play The Great White Hope is an important tale to tell.  However, some flaws in the Karamu House's telling of it and the dated theatricality of the material itself results in an unsatisfying evening's entertainment.

 

The Great White Hope revolves around Jack Jefferson, a heroic figure based loosely on the first black heavyweight champion of the world, Jack Johnson.  It depicts the blind hatred this prizefighter endures by being a successful black man in pre-World War I America, exacerbated by his bold self-assuredness, his outlandishness, and his love for a white woman.  The play follows his tumultuous career and puts on display the tragedy of a proud man cheated by his handlers, degraded by the press, and beaten by racism.

It also addresses the admiration and admonishment Jefferson encounters from his own people.  A symbol of black aspiration, Jefferson refuses to recognize himself as the Great Black Hope and is perceived as a man who has abandoned his heritage and his community.  Written in the 1960s, amidst explosive civil unrest and race riots, this play asks all those of color just how white they are willing to be to survive in a white man's world.

This Karamu House production of The Great White Hope, under the direction of Terrence Spivey, offers some genuinely riveting drama.  But this is a rare occurrence and only surfaces when it's featured players take the stage.

  

As Jack Jefferson, Anthony Elfonzia Nickerson-El is marvelous.  His intimidating physical presence is wonderfully off-set by intelligence and playfulness, resulting in a very powerful, moving and compelling performance.  It is complemented by Ursula Cataan's consistently charming and textured portrayal of Jefferson's white companion, Ellie.  The playwright does little to establish the nuances of their relationship and its eventual demise, but Nickerson-El and Cataan nicely fill in the blanks with superb and sensitive acting.  

 

Also superb are Peter Lawson Jones as Jefferson's trainer, Tick, "Skip" Corris as the racist Cap'n Dan and assorted other characters with strong foreign accents and hair pieces, and Joseph Milano as the Great White Hope.  They contribute honest and interesting performances.

 

Unfortunately, most of the supporting players suck the drama right out of this professional production with their amateur acting.  Intense moments deflate, valiant efforts by some are inadvertently undermined by others, and powerful scenes lapse into something much less due to broadly played caricatures and very peculiar choices.

 

The material itself adds to this disconnect between the principals and other participants.  While most of Jack and Ellie's moments are straightforward and traditionally staged, many of the 19 scenes in this three act epic employ a variety of theatrical styles intended to reflect a diverse portrait of America and Americans.  In the 1960s, in the original Broadway production, all this worked but here these antiquated theatrics are ineffectively executed and fall flat.  

 

As a result, this play plods along even though it rushes us from one location to another-from Ohio to San Francisco to Reno to Wisconsin to London to Paris to New York to Berlin to Budapest to Belgrade to Juarez, Mexico to Havana-courtesy of scenic designer Richard Morris' minimalist sets and slide projections, and Jasen Smith's adequate costuming.

 

This three hour production feels like a three hour production, with several members of last Friday night's audience failing to go the distance.

 

Despite some stellar work by a handful of players and an important tale to tell, this production goes down early, goes down often and ends the evening with a standing eight-count rather than a standing ovation. 

 

 The Great White Hope continues through March 14 at the Jelliffe Theatre at Karamu House, 2355 East 89th St., Cleveland.  For tickets, which are $24 to $27, call 216-795-7077 or go to www.karamuhouse.org.  This production moves to the Weathervane Playhouse in Akron from April 1 to April 18.
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