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Sunset Baby
Reviewed by Paul Birchall
Odyssey Theatre
Through June 7
Playwright Dominique Morisseau’s intimate drama is a morally disturbing tale that turns on the astonishingly powerful performance of its lead, Nadege August. The plot itself is deceptively simple, but issues of philosophy, idealism, and aspiration run beneath the surface, like sharks swimming in dark aquatic depths.
Nina (August) is a steely hustler, who dresses as a prostitute to lure potential johns to be beat up by her drug-dealing boyfriend Damon (Chris Gardner). Damon has pipe dreams of taking Nina away from their lives of petty crime, but Nina knows in her heart that it’s never going to happen. Into their unpleasant world unexpectedly comes Nina’s long-absent father Kenyatta (Vincent J. Isaac), a former Black Panther-styled activist who deserted his family for “the cause” and spent most of his life in prison.
Kenyatta, appearing literally on Nina’s doorstep, wants to see some love letters written to him by his late wife Shante X, now long dead, who left them in Nina’s keeping. Nina remembers Shante only as a neglectful crackhead at the end of her chain, but to Kenyatta, she was his Black Panther partner in his rebellion against authority. However, Nina is so bitter over her father’s lack of support, she spitefully refuses to give him what he needs – even as he tries to break through her tough carapace to reach what he hopes is her still-daughterly heart.
Morisseau’s play contains an artful mix of politics and emotion – but the ideas are folded so subtly within the ferocity of emotion as to never seem either didactic or manipulative. The play urges us to withhold judgment of Nina’s activities here, even though she intentionally comes across as a street-hardened thug who uses feminine wiles to break and tame everyone around her.
At points, the play’s a compelling meditation on the moral emptiness of idealism which comes at the cost of actual human interaction – Isaac’s Kenyatta is clearly a passionate man, but he’s clearly only able to reach out to others when he’s debating political issues — otherwise his lack of emotional connection borders on the sociopathic. The piece is also about how the descendants of idealists are frequently left behind with nothing, not even the idealism of their ancestors.
All of the father’s emotional flaws and weaknesses are powerfully reflected from August’s searing turn as Nina, a performance that crackles with intensity and suppressed fury. August offers an almost terrifying truthfulness to her turn as the streetwise grifter who knows she has disappointed her father, mocked his legacy, and she couldn’t care less. Watching her respond with venom and disdain to her father’s mild attempts to reach out to her are harrowing and also strangely recognizable in people who have taught themselves to loathe their parents. Hers is a deeply moving performance, with a truthfulness so assured, the viewer finds a sympathetic core to a figure who, on the surface, appears bitter beyond redemption.
Odyssey Theater, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd, W.L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p..m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through June 7. (310) 477-2055.
