Theater Review – Invisible Man
by C. Dixon Freeman

Creating a play from author Ralph Ellison’s Court 1952 classic Invisible Man—as Court Theatre has done–would seem as risky as sailors following the call of the Sirens.  And yet what company wouldn’t be tempted?

The book has strong central character in the unnamed black male protagonist who tells the reader a nightmarish coming of age story that doubles as a treatise on race in 20^th century America.  He is invisible, he learns — and we learn — because white people refuse to acknowledge him.  But Ellison’s book substitutes straight narrative with time shifts, metaphor, humorous riffs, and episodic pieces and character soliloquies that are like the jazz music that inspired his writing.  There’s a riot, a factory explosion and assorted other calamities. In the wrong hands, the play could have been diluted to assure a clearer storyline for the audience — or mishandled to the point of shipwreck.

Fortunately, director Christopher McElroen steers clear of the rocks and sails nicely with Invisible Man, which made its world premiere last Saturday at Court Theatre.  McElroen’s steady hand and Oren Jacoby’s well-done adaptation retains the power of Ellison’s landmark book — long thought to be unable to be staged — and more than a bit of its brilliance. [Read more]

SunSpots: Tamberla Perry – On “Race”

by Stephanie!

I was delighted to have the opportunity to steal a moment from Tamberla Perry at the Goodman Theater between an “artist talk” and a preview performance!  Tamberla is starring alongside Geoffrey Owens, Patrick Clear and Marc Grapey in Race by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, directed by Chuck Smith.  I’ve enjoyed Tamberla in numerous performances, including Brother/Sister Plays at Steppenwolf, Northlight’s Eclipsed, Fedra: Queen of Haiti at LookingGlass and several performances with MPAACT Afrikan Centered Theatre, of which she is a member.  [Read more]