[NEohioPAL] Berko review: FREE MAN OF COLOR @ Ensemble Theatre

[Roy Berko]

FREE MAN OF COLOR offers revelations at Ensemble

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

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

Why was Roderick J. McDavis, the president of Ohio University, sitting in the 
Notre Dame College's Performing Arts Center on a Thursday night?  As he 
explained in his between-acts comments at FREE MAN OF COLOR, he was in 
attendance to pay tribute to OU professor Charles Smith, who wrote the award 
prize winning play.  In addition, he wanted to recognize John Newton Templeton, 
the play's protagonist, who in 1828, 35 years before the end of slavery, became 
one of the first black men in the nation to graduate college.
 
FREE MAN OF COLOR is a two-act play which examines the life of Templeton, a 
freed slave, who developed a close and unique relationship with Reverend Robert 
Wilson, the third President of OU, and his wife, Jane.  Wilson hand-picked 
Templeton to be the first leader of what was to become the country of Liberia, 
which was selected by a group of ministers to be the place where US freed slaves 
could return to Africa and live in freedom.  

Although Templeton excels in most areas of study, he turns out to be quite 
different from what Wilson had wanted, needed, and expected.   A great deal of 
his education takes place outside of the classroom in conversations with Jan 
Wilson, which covered such topics as the rights of women, what it really means 
to be free and being true to one's self.

Smith's play, which was a wise choice for Ensemble Theatre to stage during Black 
History month, probes how Reverend Wilson was forced to reevaluate his 
abolitionist views and Templeton is forced to examine the reasons he was chosen 
to be the "first," while asking whether a freed slave is really free?  It 
revealsa complex human being struggling with competing moral obligations of 
gratitude and principle, with individual morality and collective responsibility.

Interestingly, when playwright Smith began hunting through Ohio University's 
archives for details of Templeton's life, he found only a few documents. It took 
a great deal of detective work to flesh out the details.  As he states, 
"Templeton's story is a critical piece of history.  I hope the audience will 
think about things in ways they had never thought about before."   From this 
writer's standpoint, that hope is fully realized.

Ensemble's production is under the direction of Tony Sias. Though there is some 
distracting staging, such as characters not facing each other in interactions, 
and some distracting lighting effects, which make the actors look like they are 
playing hopscotch from one light spot to another, the author's intentions come 
across.  

The acting is generally good, though the needed southern accents keep coming and 
going.  Tall, willowy Antuane Rogers is excellent as the young John Newton 
Templeton.  His strain and pain, including one scene where his tears flow 
freely, is clearly present.  

Diane Mull, who, at times, becomes too shrill in displaying the frustrations of 
Jan Wilson, seemed to grow into the role.  She develops a meaningful 
characterization in the second act, after a weak first stanza.

Jeffrey Grover (Robert Wilson) tries hard, but lacks nuance.  At times he probes 
into the character, but much of his mood swings and realizations don't seem 
internally motivated.   This is a character of zeal, of purpose, and, at the 
end, a man who is forced to face that he can't enslave Templeton and make him 
into a servant who acts based on Wilson's dictates.  That dawning reality, 
which  is vital to the play's dénouement, isn't clearly developed.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   FREE MAN OF COLOR is a play well worth seeing.  It gets an 
acceptable production at Ensemble Theatre.

FREE MAN OF COLOR runs through February 27 in the Performing Arts Center at 
Notre Dame College, Green Road, South Euclid.   For tickets call 216-321-2930 or 
go online to www.ensemble-theatre.org 
 
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 
2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at 
http://royberko.info.  His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com 
and www.NeOHIOpal



 
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