Black Theatre Troupe's Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting at The Helen K. Mason Center for the Performing Arts
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 4/2/99
(out of )Before anything about this production is critiqued, allow me to warn you that I am a diehard baseball fan. I was born the day the New York Mets won the World Series in 1969, and feel an equal amount of love about baseball as I do about theatre. With this in mind, be aware that a baseball play has two personal inclinations with which to contend. I was therefore quite anticipating Black Theatre Troupe's latest effort, Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, since it deals with baseball, albeit in a cursory way, and race relations, a worthy subject for theatre.
Set days before Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier, the
play centers on a mythical meeting in a Manhattan hotel room (actually
an amalgamation of several real-life meetings) between Brooklyn
Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson and three top blacks
in their community, including fighter Joe Louis, entertainer Bill
"Bojangles" Robinson, and singer/political activist
Paul Robeson. Seen from the point of view of Clancy Hope, a young
black bellhop who becomes involved in the meeting, the play attempts
to show the different styles that all colors wanted to take to
bringing about integration, not just in sports, but in everyday
life.
While this is a worthy subject, and offers several interesting
characters and their take on race relations, a play with the word
"Meeting" in the title is already worrisome, since it
implies a lot of talking heads. That we do get, and more, and
while the internal struggle between the blacks and their struggle
against Mr. Rickey's charity is at least dramatically interesting,
it never actually avoids the pitfall of talkiness. To make matters
worse, Director Douglas Alan-Mann has done only a passable
job of casting, and the actors fall into a weird cadence of vocal
and acting rhythms that jerk the pacing of the show around. Rather
than a grand slam of baseball and politics, this production is
a bloop single that never has the legs to make it to second. Credit
must be given to Mr. Alan-Mann to have made this talky show as
solid as it is. Even I, though, who knows much of the history
behind the play, found myself bored by some of the pontificating.
My companion, who does not follow baseball, became a bit confused
and dropped her interest a lot quicker than I.
Mr. Alan-Mann has cast two of his roles quite well, though, and
this is a blessing. Ben Tyler's Branch Rickey is an impressive
study of an interesting baseball legend. He does an excellent
job recreating many of the mannerisms and quirks that have been
commemorated about Mr. Rickey, He is an uptight enigma, a balance
of liberal social ideals and conservative business regimens, and
Mr. Tyler captures them all. Taurean J. Hall Hughes, a
16 year-old Mesa high school student, takes on the difficult task
of playing his age, and his grandfather's age with a minimum of
problems, and is a welcome comedic break from the dramatic tension
of the play.
Lloyd Bickham, as heavyweight champion Joe Louis, seems
nearly as unconnected during his performance as his character
is during the proceedings. He plays at unfocussed, and becomes
distracting as he is being distracted. Mel Morris' presentation
of the powerful speaker, Paul Robeson, is a one-note affair that
is powerful without ever being modulated.
Kwane Vedrene's Jackie Robinson is poorly acted, and unconvincing,
while he looks stiff and ill-at-ease onstage. A source of several
seeming dropped lines and rushed cues, Cordell Conway's
playful Bill "Bojangles" Robinson is only powerful when
he's not shuffling and ingratiating to Mr. Rickey. When given
the chance to rail at his attackers, which barely ever happens,
he finally rises to the occasion.
The production values are definitely impressive. Thom Gilseth's
lush set is well-appointed, and even includes the all-important
rain on the windows. Michael J. Eddy's lighting is subtle
and David Temby's sound design smooth. The period costuming
of Carol Simmons also works quite well. The small amount
of choreography by Ellishequea Bishop almost worked, though
it was obvious that Mr. Conway was no "Bojangles."
The Arizona Diamondbacks have partially invested in this show,
which is a good publicity move on their part. It's encouraging
to see their charitable efforts moving into the theatre community.
While this production isn't bush league, it is filled with too
many bobbled balls and inexplicable errors to raise it to a World
Series level.
Production Details:
Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting by Ed Schmidt
Black Theatre Troupe
The Helen K. Mason Center for the Performing Arts, Phoenix
(602) 258-8128
April 1st - April 18th, 1999