Camille Ariana Spirlin and Lorenz Arnell (Photo courtesy Anteaus Theatre Company)
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
Antaeus Theatre Company
Through November 20
RECOMMENDED
Thirteen-year-old SHE — full name given to her by her mom is She Sojourner Freeman (Camille Ariana Spirlin) — is young, gifted, and Black — but growing up in a small town in the 1970s is stifling her ambition to become a successful writer like her idol Langston Hughes. SHE longs to leave her provincial burg, and a scholarship to the tony Vanguard Academy, arranged by a sympathetic teacher, is a boon for her, albeit a bane for her best friend Davy (Lorenz Arnell), who feels that their otherwise solidifying relationship will weaken if she goes away for school.
But there’s a problem. Procuring the added cost of meals and lodging is an obstacle aggravated by indifference from her single mother Bernice (Karen Malina White), a factory worker whose recent obsession with the unemployed military vet Mr. Lonnie (John Chaffin) adds to the family’s already precarious finances. With tensions rising between mother and daughter, SHE sees her chance for a better future slowly slipping away. Thus, she spends her summer desperately trying to raise money to fulfill her dreams but risks losing them by making reckless decisions.
Despite a shopworn premise and superfluous scenes, playwright Marlow Wyatt and director Andi Chapman deliver a heartfelt coming-of-age story, with a strong cast and superior production values. While SHE’s monologues alternate between flowery and turgid, Spirlin delivers them mostly with poise. White’s lonely and vulnerable Bernice, who finds comfort in alcohol and wayward men, represents a mother ambivalent about the possibilities in her daughter’s future. Spirlin’s SHE counters as the wary child who sees in Bernice’s broken spirit what she could become if she follows her mom’s path.
While the character of Mr. Lonnie borders on stereotype – the jobless Black man exploiting women financially and emotionally – Wyatt finds a flawed humanity in him. Chaffin also embodies this humanness with a deft macho turn that belies the probable trauma of service in Vietnam, along with a return to a nation that neglects its veterans. Arnell is also moving as the shy Davy, navigating adolescent emotions he can barely fathom in his bond with SHE. His moments with Spirlin are both comic and touching due to the duo’s authentic chemistry. Veronica Thompson offers a fun turn as Miss Jane, a snoopy neighbor, who chastises SHE and Davy over playing cards on the Lord’s day (and other sinful behavior) but later plays a pivotal role in an encounter with Bernice. Gerard Joseph is Othalee, a slow-witted janitor whose offer of sage advice and assistance may be more costly than SHE can afford.
The production design is flawless, from Jeff Gardner’s ambient sounds of passing cars, rippling water and a skipping stone to Nicholas Santiago’s projections of starry nights, summery days, the texts of Hughes’ poems, and a flighty hummingbird symbolic of SHE’s pent-up desire to spread her wings. Interspersed in the piece are classic 70s soul tunes that set the play’s time period and may have you bopping your head and singing along. Eli Sherlock’s set, with its strategically placed shutters, doors, and windows, symbolizes the resilience of home and family while Andrew Schmedake’s precise lighting, down to a sparkling shine on the floor representing a flowing river, make for some dreamlike moments, apropos for a play about reaching for the stars.
Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, 110 East Broadway, Glendale. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm; through Nov. 20. https://antaeus.org Running time: Two hours with a fifteen-minute intermission.
