(out of 
)Black Theatre Troupe's Executive Director, David Hemphill, has done a wonderful job of raising the expectations for his spunky company. By forging bonds with other venues in the theatre community (and most importantly, Phoenix Theatre), he has made more professional and artistic work flourish in the Helen K. Mason Center for the Performing Arts. The first production of their 30th season, though, is full of so many odd choices and wasted talent, one has to wonder if Mr. Hemphill's absence to perform in Phoenix Theatre's How to Succeed... hasn't adversely affected their abilities.
The reason for this trepidation struts the boards at the Center in the form of the lame sitcom play Willie & Esther by Richard Graham Bronson. Fusing the directing talents of former BTT Artistic Director Pemon Rami with the acting talents of Mike Traylor and Masequa Myers, and the designs of Thom Gilseth, Michael J. Eddy, David Temby, and Carol Simmons seems to be a surefire combination. Unfortunately, this collection of talent has been married with a script that is two-plus hours of unattractive stereotypes and repetitious, inconsistent and circular dialogue and situations that overuse malapropisms and clichés well beyond excess. Watching this production was like viewing several episodes of Sanford & Son, with even worse scripting than that show offered. While a chunk of the opening night audience laughed at the amateurish and base jokes, my companion and I sat uncomfortably wondering if we were simply missing something. Perhaps we are more wracked with white, liberal guilt than to allow ourselves to enjoy Mr. Traylor and Ms. Myers' hammy offerings of an unintelligent couple wrestling with abject poverty, planning an inane bank robbery and bantering about their tenuous relationship. Our knowledge of basic playwriting counters that, though.
The titled Willie and Esther are an older unmarried couple who must try to find a way to save Willie from losing his apartment. Willie wants a place to party, while Esther wants him to finally marry her. What ensues is unenlightened planning of a bank heist and wheedling for a marriage vow. There are some attempts at sincerity and character movement late in the second act, but none truly worth noting.
Mr. Rami has directed Mr. Traylor and Ms. Myers as though working with Fred Sanford and Aunt Esther. They zing back and forth across the stage and mug like common hooligans. This is probably the only way to maneuver these occasionally 3-D charicatures, but still somehow seems like the wrong one in the light of good taste. Both of these performers are capable of subtlety and grace, and occasionally this shines through, especially near the climax, when times get even tougher and a wisp of emotional truth wafts by. Unfortunately, the dénouement drives away this hint of good taste, and the sitcom returns once more in earnest. While the two leads are consistent in keeping the tone of this piece, one wishes the piece would be a lot less consistently lowbrow in its tone.
To underscore the cartoon quality of the piece, Messrs. Gilseth and Eddy offer set and lighting as unsubtle as required for the text and performances. The simple brick wall exterior of bank and L.A. tenement looks cheap, and the lighting has nowhere to go. Better is Mr. Temby's sound, which is utilitarian, and Ms. Simmons' costumes, which are very much charicature-driven.
Black Theatre Troupe will undoubtedly rebound and once more present timely plays that speak to and for the African-American community. This is no doubt an anomaly to what will otherwise prove as good a season as Mr. Hemphill has offered. This reviewer just wishes to either understand why this happened in the first place, or get the joke that he was on the outside of. He was either bored and disgusted, or simply clueless, and would love to know which.
Production Details:
Willie & Esther by Richard
Graham Bronson
Black Theatre Troupe
Helen K. Mason Center for the Performing Arts, Phoenix
(602) 258-8128
October 14th - October 31st, 1999