(Alphonse Nicholson (Photo by Jonathan Benavente)
Reviewed by Julyza Commodore
The Fountain Theatre
Thru December 16.
RECOMMENDED
Freight: The Five Incarnations of Abel Green, a one-man show, tells the story of Abel Green (J. Alphonse Nicholson), a Black man, as we seem him exist in five different lifetimes: a minstrel in the 1910s, a religious miracle worker in the mid 1930s, an FBI informant in the late 1960s, a struggling actor in the 1980s and a former seller of house mortgages who is now a homeless man in 2010. Howard L. Craft’s script is as eloquent as it is powerful and expressive, filled with strong truths about being a Black man in America at many points in time, and across many decades. “All Negroes are actors by necessity,” says the 1910 Abel Green. He continues, “Script is passed down generation to generation and the Negroes that know their lines tend to live longer than the Negroes that don’t, generally speaking, as it comes to dealing with White folks.” Here, he is in the midst of speaking about why he is a part of the acting troupe although he has experienced traumatizing events while doing so.
He references Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask” as he speaks to the mask which he has to wear in order to get by.
Throughout the various time periods, what remains consistent is Nicholson’s ability to embody the various characters that he slips in and out of, from Abel Green to other people he encounters. He does so seamlessly, and the archetypes of each are immensely clear throughout. Each incarnation is fleshed out and fascinating in its own way.
Director Joseph Megel pulls the best out of Nicholson, and in the varied pacing and momentum, nothing seems rushed or too slow. Joel Daavid’s set serves to elevates the telling of the story, vividly creating the world that the production lives in. Danyelle Thomas’s costumes are similarly brilliant, each garment delivering a potent statement of the respective time in which it appears.
Every aspect of this production is superb, taking the audience on a 90-minute journey that proves to be truthful and timeless.
The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029. Fri.-Sat., & Mon., 8 pm; Sun., 2 pm; thru December 16th. Running time 90-minutes. https://fountaintheatre.com
