{"id":741,"date":"2023-06-07T01:07:41","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T01:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/?p=741"},"modified":"2023-06-12T00:41:26","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T00:41:26","slug":"the-blue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/the-blue\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blue"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]\n

Blue<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Reviewed by Deborah Klugman<\/strong>
\nRogue Machine Theatre at the Henry Murray Space at the Matrix Theatre<\/em><\/strong>
\nThrough June 5<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Murder-by-cop. In\u00a0Blue<\/em>, playwright June Carryl lays out a blueprint for this grim, all-too-frequent horror show, building her story around a character who has taken the life of another human being and is struggling to justify this action both to himself and the person recording his take on events.<\/p>\n

The play is set in a police squad room, a dim depressing space (production design by Joe McClean and Dane Bowman) with a table and chairs, an overhead camera, and not much else. In director Michael Matthews\u2019s immersive staging \u2014 in the Matrix Theatre\u2019s upstairs Henry Murray space \u2014 the audience is seated on either side of the playing area, mere feet from the actors. Outside in the hallway, photos of decorated police officers cover the walls. An American flag also is prominently displayed.<\/p>\n

Summoned for questioning, Sully (John Colella), a White guy with 29 years with the LAPD, seems nervous from the get-go. He\u2019s been called in by the FID \u2014 Force Investigation Division \u2014 to account for his shooting of a young Black man in a quiet neighborhood adjacent to the Hollywood Hills. The unarmed man was attempting to drive away after Sully had stopped him for expired tags. Sully\u2019s anxiety moderately abates when he discovers that the person responsible for taking his statement is a former friend and colleague, a Black woman named Parker (Julanne Chidi Hill) whose husband, also a cop, he had partnered with, back in the day. His instinct is to generate, then prolong, a wow-how-have-you-been-long-time-no-see conversation that might (not so subtly) turn down the heat.<\/p>\n

Parker briefly plays along, but she isn\u2019t fooled and soon commences the business of uncovering exactly what happened. A gentle prodding for details gives way to a broader interrogation that goes so far as to encompass Sully\u2019s presence at the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The drama plays out with few surprises, generating a profile of an incipient fascist that comes to life in Colella\u2019s layered performance \u2014 his skillful relay of the rage, defensiveness and insecurity that fuels his character\u2019s behavior also propels the production.<\/p>\n

As Parker, Chidi Hill channels the voice of the playwright (and all of us who\u2019ve raged and wept at these unspeakable tragedies). There\u2019s much satisfaction to be had when an investigating detective, a woman of color whose risen in the ranks, wields reason, fact and a determination for justice to arrive at the truth. (See Fani T. Willis for confirmation.)<\/p>\n

That said, some aspects of the production might be finessed. Carryl\u2019s back story of a warm past relationship between the two principles is rich with potential; as is, it\u2019s hazily drawn, leaving the task of conjuring details to the actor assuming the role. As directed by Matthews, Chidi Hill\u2019s Parker is thinly developed; we never get much of who this woman might be beyond her role of interrogator. Broadening and deepening the narrative to include other elements \u2014 her marriage, her husband\u2019s health, the racism she\u2019s personally encountered or the obstacles she may have had to overcome \u2014 could turn this satisfying dramatic vehicle into a truly compelling play.<\/p>\n

The Henry Murray Space at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave., Hollywood. Fri.-Sat. & Mon., 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm; thru June 5.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/www.roguemachinetheatre.org\/\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a>Running time: 55 minutes with no intermission.<\/em><\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”902″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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