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style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: 19.2pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">High
hopes for Karamu production get knocked out<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>3/5/10</SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Howard Sackler's play
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Great White Hope</I> is an important
tale to tell.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Great White
Hope</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
revolves around Jack Jefferson, a heroic figure based loosely on the first black
heavyweight champion of the world, Jack Johnson.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>It also
addresses the admiration and admonishment Jefferson encounters from his own
people.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This Karamu House
production of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Great White Hope</I>,
under the direction of Terrence Spivey, offers some genuinely riveting
drama.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But this is a rare
occurrence and only surfaces when it’s featured players take the
stage.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">As
Jack Jefferson, Anthony Elfonzia Nickerson-El is marvelous.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His intimidating physical presence is
wonderfully off-set by intelligence and playfulness, resulting in a very
powerful, moving and compelling performance. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is complemented by Ursula Cataan’s
consistently charming and textured portrayal of Jefferson’s white companion,
Ellie.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They contribute honest and interesting
performances.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Unfortunately,
most of the supporting </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">players suck the
drama right out of this professional production with their amateur acting.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The material itself
adds to this disconnect between the principals and other participants.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>In the 1960s, in the original Broadway production, all this worked but
here these antiquated theatrics are ineffectively executed and fall flat.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">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.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This three hour
production feels like a three hour production, with several members of last
Friday night’s audience failing to go the distance.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">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. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Great White
Hope</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
continues through March 14 at </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">the
Jelliffe Theatre</SPAN></STRONG><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">at
Karamu House, 2355 East 89<SUP>th</SUP> St., Cleveland.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which are $24 to $27, call
216-795-7077 or go to <A href=""><FONT
color=#5588aa>www.karamuhouse.org</FONT></A>.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This production moves to the Weathervane
Playhouse in Akron from April 1 to April
18.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>