[ssba]
Watching O.J.
Reviewed by Vanessa Cate
Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA
Through Nov. 8
RECOMMENDED:
Everyone who was around remembers where they were and how they felt 20 years ago when the verdict was announced. “Not guilty.” The trial of O.J. Simpson dragged on and dominated the air waves for months, so that when the conclusion finally arrived nearly everyone had to watch it and found their way to a television set, no matter what they were doing.
I remember I was sitting in class, and that I understood the importance of the event by virtue of my teacher’s allowing us to watch it on T.V. instead of his usual droning. I remember the tangible anticipation as the verdict was about to be announced. But I didn’t watch the screen – instead I watched the faces of everyone around me. When they read the words aloud, one girl gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth, starting to cry. I think everyone in the room had to remember how to breathe.
The trial incited passion and strong opinions from everyone. It was a murder mystery unfolding before us, and we were all putting the pieces of evidence together and drawing our own conclusions, like we were the experts. But the case was also so divisive in nature. From the get-go, it felt strange for any of us to imagine a likable celebrity to be a murderer (though the car chase in his white bronco added some serious doubt, and excitement). From there, the social, class, and racial complexities polarized an entire nation.
This is setting for David McMillan’s world premiere play Watching O.J. (directed by Keith Szarabajka), Mr. Simpson, Johnnie Cochran, and even the jury are not characters here. Instead, we meet a diverse group of people (played by a strong ensemble of performers) working at a local dry cleaner, auto body shop, and hospital. Representing a wide spectrum, both racially, economically, and in terms of values and background, the trial gives way to vibrant and passionate debate, and even tears some relationships apart.
Deftly and informatively written by McMillan, the script does not favor any one viewpoint, but rather gives a fair representation of all sides, and illustrates that perhaps we all have our own prejudices and perceptions, and that racism and classism are not simple but most often subtle.
As for the bearing of the play, it is obvious that the show’s opening 20 years after the trial is not only important numerically, but as we’re all sifting through the aftermath and continuation of significant racial brutality and tension, the play finds itself cosmically disconcerting as well as appropriate.
One would hope that the play will not always be relevant, and that one day viewers will enjoy seeing it for posterity and historical purposes. (“Post-racial” is a term that optimists use.)
In the meantime, McMillan has given us all something to think about, and encouraged a discussion that desperately needs to continue.
Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA at Atwater Village Theatre complex, 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m.; through Nov. 8 (818) 858-0440, https://watchingoj.brownpapertickets.com; Running time approximately 2 hours with one fifteen-minute intermission.
