RADIO GOLF by August Wilson
RADIO GOLF by August Wilson, directed by Harry J. Elam Jr. TheatreWorks, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.(at Mercy), Mountain View. 650-903-6000 or www.theatreworks.org. Through November 2, 2008.
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TheatreWorks presents the regional premiere of August Wilson's final episode of his monumental 10-play cycle that chronicles the African-American experience from 1904 ("Gem of the Ocean") to 1997. It is a powerful play of unfulfilled dreams, hardships and resentment. Similar to his other plays, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Wilson relies on long moralistic speeches to vocalize previous experiences and define character. Such construction requires superb acting and directing and TheatreWorks' production is an unqualified success with (alphabetically) local actors Aldo Billingslea, Charles Branklyn, L. Peter Callender, Anthony J. Haney and C. Kelly Wright on Eric Flatmo's fantastically realistic set. The spontaneous standing ovation at the end of the play was well deserved.
Once again the action plays out in Pittsburgh's Hill District that is in the process of being condemned to make way for redevelopment in late 1990s. In a shabby storefront real estate office we are introduced to a young successful African American entrepreneur Harmond Wilks (Aldo Billingslea who was stunning playing the lead in "Elephant Man"), his wife Mame (C. Kelly Wright a smashing success in "Caroline, or Change") and partner Roosevelt Hicks (Anthony J. Haney, a TheatreWorks veteran). While Roosevelt is set on making a killing in real estate and being able to "sit at the table" with the white elite, Harmond, with Mame as his public relation whiz, desires to become the first African-American mayor of Pittsburgh.
Conflict arises when impecunious Elder Joseph Barlow (audience favorite Charles Branklyn) arrives to claim the Wilks' ancestral home that is scheduled to be razed but sits in the middle of the proposed project. Wilson creates Sterling Johnson (forceful, CalShakes veteran, L. Peter Callender), a shady, somewhat ethereal, much traveled handyman as the moralconscience of the play.
It is not necessary to be familiar with Wilson's previous plays but doing so adds depth to the plot when it is revealed that Harmond and Elder Barlow are brothers. Roosevelt's great love of golf is driven by the opportunity to associate with the movers and shakers in the community even though their motivations are highly suspect. He becomes the "token black" owner of a local radio station (Radio Golf, of course). Harmond changes his perspective becoming an advocate "championing black heritage" to the detriment of his political campaign. Mame who has social ambitions, further complicates Harmond's reawakening with conflicts between her social desires and her emotional bond with Harmond.
Under Elam's direction, all but Branklyn is allowed to have bombastic moments. Whereas, Haney and Wright convey verisimilitude, Billingslea's portrayal does not convey truth in his sudden conversion to be part of the great black heritage. Branklyn never raises his voice but his sly facial expression and "down-to-earth" mannerisms convey greater meaning than the actual words. Between the dramatic confrontations, Branklyn and Wright have been given humorous lines that break the tension and are a joy to observe. Callender's high-energy performance looses meaning when he drops his voice to an inaudible level at the end of his sentences. Yes, the minor flaws are there but in its totality "Radio Golf" is a fitting end to Wilson's chronicles. Running time 2 hours and 40 minutes with intermission.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of TheatreWorld Internet Magazine