Masterful Writing Comes to an Aurora Stage

October 21, 4:52 PMDenver Theater ExaminerDeb Flomberg

Previous Next

3 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Denver Theater Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Kimberly Nicole, Jaliah Peters, Kristen Adele Carroll
& Debbie Johnson Lee in Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Photo by McBoat Photography

I’ve often found that every theatre I’ve been into has its own distinct identity. A theatre lives and breathes. It is alive with the stories told within its walls. If you close your eyes when you walk into a theatre, any theatre, you will feel it too. The minute I walked into the Shadow Theatre in Aurora I could feel its pulse. The Shadow Theatre radiates warmth and love. The stories told, the songs sung, the dances danced – all are lingering in this theatre. It really is a beautiful space, for so many reasons.

I was privy to one such reason last night, as I attended the industry night performance of August Wilson’s classic Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, directed by Jeffrey Nickelson. This show is the 2nd in the ten play series known as Wilson’s Pittsburgh cycle, in which he sets each play in a different decade, with the overall goal to describe the Black Experience of the 20th Century. The story is about the journey of recently freed slaves as they seek out their own identities, look for their lost family, and struggle to maintain their African roots. It focuses in on a boarding house, run by Seth (Timothy C. Johnson) and Bertha Holly (Debbie Johnson Lee.) One night, Herald Loomis (Cajardo Lindsey) comes to stay at the boarding house with his young daughter Zonia ( a delightful Jaliah Peters.) He is looking for his wife, and needs a place to stay.  As the story progresses, Loomis is unveiled as a deeply damaged and struggling man. He is recently freed from slavery, possessed by unseen forces, as he struggles to raise his daughter. Much of the story deals with African Folk Tradition as provided by one of the men that lives in the boarding house, Bynum Walker (Mark Morgan). Also intertwined in the plot is the story of young Jeremy Furlow (Seth Michael) and his search for love, while still trying to understand what it means to be a grown man.

It is a lot to put into one play. The two stories tangle together well, as the masterful writing delves into the psyche of deeply damaged and struggling people. This is a strong and powerful story, crafted by a true master of the stage. The performances are all strong, each actor does a wonderful job of probing the reality of life in 1911. The directing is impeccable as well. Nickelson does an impressive job of bringing the story to life and creating deep and believable characters. This is not a play to be taken lightly. It brings powerful and real emotion to the surface, and lets them sit there exposed and raw. I was in tears more than once during those two hours. The emotions it evokes are worth diving into once, but twice or more would be only for the strong of heart.

Shadow Theatre Company is doing some remarkable work. Nestled just off of Colfax on Dayton in Aurora, I highly recommend this theatre to you all. The upcoming season has something for everyone, and you will not be dissapointed.  As Jeffrey Nickelson wrote in his Director's notes, "One of the most beautiful things that we do as human beings is listen to each other's songs - and then share them with others." I, for one, can't wait to hear more of Shadow Theatre Company's songs.