The recent success of the film, “The Help,” this past summer proved that American audiences are ready to both laugh at and recoil from the forms of racism and stereotyping that have existed in modern times, not just in pre-Civil War history. Alice Childress’s play, “Trouble In Mind” was written more than half a century ago, but it’s message and agile take on a potentially tough subject (for an audience looking to be entertained) feels as if it also could have been intended for 2011 audiences.
“Trouble In Mind” at Arena Stage is certainly as relevant now as when it was first Broadway bound in the mid 1950’s (it never made it, as Childress refused to acquiesce to the producers’ wishes to “lighten up” the material and give it a tidier ending) but one assumes that today’s white theater-goers are laughing more heartily at the well-intentioned but ignorant white characters, even as those chuckles are tinged with a dose of embarrassment.
It’s a play within a play; As the curtain rises, E. Faye Butler plays a veteran actress, Wiletta, entering a backstage rehearsal for a play that purports to be a more enlightened take on its mostly African American characters, but she is rightly skeptical. Her fellow actors include other black thespians who are wearily resigned to playing maids and butlers and slaves. Two younger actors, one black, one white, each more idealistic than their colleagues, round out the cast of “Chaos In Belleville,” the cringe-worthy play for which they’ve been hired to act.
“Trouble In Mind” is able to send its message without being too preachy, quite simply, because it’s funny. The humor is so deftly interwoven with the serious nature of the content that it feels quite natural to smile one moment and notice an unexpected tear welling up minutes later. E. Faye Butler’s dynamic performance gets a lot of the credit for that mixture of emotions, as she is tasked with going from somewhat broad comedic physicality, to quietly devastating moments that register solely within her eyes. It’s impossible to imagine anyone else in this role.
The cast is uniformly superb. I must confess that I was slightly confused by Thomas Jefferson Byrd’s highly mannered performance as Sheldon, an older and wiser actor who has seen it all. I wasn’t sure if Byrd’s grand gestures and evangelical cadence belonged to him or his character, but one could easily argue that my confusion proves that I was watching a job well done. At any rate, by the time Byrd delivers a moving monologue in the second act, all doubts are forgotten. There isn't a sound in the Kreeger, apart from his baritone voice.
And a shout out to the great Laurence O’Dwyer as the kindly backstage worker. I’m simply not articulate enough to describe the sheer joy that his work brings me. But he always makes me glad I came to the theater.
“Trouble In Mind” might break your heart, but you’ll laugh throughout the whole journey. Are those tears of laughter or sadness? Probably both.
"Trouble In Mind" continues at Arena Stage in Washington, DC Through October 23rd. For tickets and more information, please visit: http://www.arenastage.org
Comments