As taught in most schools, history is a drag.
However, once we’ve memorized dates and battles of the Civil War it is fascinating to read letters between soldiers on the battlefield and their families at homes, north or south. The joy of delving into history is discovering the stories that personalize the men and women who lived past times and were party to remarkable events. This is why so many are compelled by the stories of passengers on The Titanic than the accounts of the company that commissioned the ship.
Annette Daniels-Taylor understands this. As a playwright she engaged Buffalo audiences with her 2009 Artie Award winning play, A Little Bit Of Paradise. Using Buffalo history as a springboard, the story depicted political, racial and personal struggles during the administration of its then mayor, Francis X. Schwab, a racial reformer and anti-prohibitionist.
This month, Daniels-Taylor uses this inherent appreciation as director for Subversive Theatre of OyamO’s script I Am A Man. The same love of individual chapters on the big shelf of history permeates the plot and performance of this play. In I Am A Man, playwright OyamO uses real life events not as documentary but as the foundation for a thoughtful drama.
I Am A Man rises above expectation some might have of plays addressing historic social issues. OyamO does not parade flat cardboard cut-outs of white foes or black heroes of somewhat sturdier cardboard. He presents an entire community facing a roster of problems and the conflicted paths to solution.
The struggle for racial equality heats to a boiling point across the United States while in Memphis one man tackles its symptoms head on. In the spring of 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., is seen as the central figure in a national campaign. At the same time, T.O. Jones stands up for his co-workers in a labor issue amongst that city’s garbage collectors.
President of his union local, T.O. Jones initiated a strike on garbage collection to address lethal working conditions as well as on the job race bias. The climax of the strike was King’s visit to Memphis in support of the garbage workers, a visit which proved fateful. The obstacles Jones faced in city government and public sentiment were considerable. On a personal level, rift in his family life compound anxieties.
Hope for help arrives in the form of representatives from the union’s New York City headquarters and from a black nationalist group. However, these factions, each claiming the importance of its interest the chance for resolution. OyamO depicts ally turning violently upon ally, a threat more detrimental than the original fight. In the play, Jones establishes a measure of control by asserting himself a self declared leader of the garbage strike.
OyamO juxtaposes the eventual end of the strike with the assassination of King. This is one of OyamO’s best accomplishments in this script. The play comes to a moving ending. His friends call Jones a hero. Jones cannot accept this. He questions his ripple in the pond, one man taking on one contest, compared to the tidal wave of uniting people into a movement as King did.
Another successful playwright choice is to have one actor on stage at all times in his garbage collector’s uniform. He is unseen by the others as the rail about the political fine points of the strike and city government. It is a clever device to have this reminder of what and who the strike is about as the political discourse swamps the humanity of the circumstances.
The writing of I Am A Man succumbs to one flaw common to historic plays… from Shakespeare to the present. History provides many fascinating facts but a playwright must employ only those most impactful for an audience. The brimming amount of information makes this meaty story longer than it needs be. In order to get it all onstage, the Subversive Theatre performance moves at a breakneck speed. As a result the high action scenes are gripping but thoughtful moments in this provocative, intelligent play tend to be rushed. Similarly, Pete Johnson is at his best when given the chance to vent his character’s anger, but tends to yell through moments when his character attempts to deal with reason. His is a memorable performance none the less and he is in good company with a very, very impressive cast.
Production values are otherwise very good. Use of a black-and-white palette is many times a simplistic design solution in theatre. As a result it can be hackneyed for the audience. However, Hope Wardlaw’s carefully selected wardrobe for this production is a solid example of B/W’s usefulness and effectiveness. Color is only intermittently introduced, providing visual target at key moments and characters under focus. Within this limited color range, Wardlaw employs a range of style and texture to details the many characters in this saga.
Costumes synchronize nicely with the other design elements, especially vintage video that serves as a counterpoint documentary at the same time providing a visual background for the show. Brian Millbrand has deftly selected images that are informative as well as scenic. He has rendered them expertly to define time, place and event.
Some people look to history (and historic theatre) for a simple message that is easy to understand and then quickly forgotten. OyamO’s script more complicated than a mere fable, but also more profound and more lasting. As the central figure of a drama, Jones comes to see problems are solved by initiating resolution rather than raising the stakes of conflict. I’ll take meaning over message any day… and in any play.
Who might like I Am A Man: As radio icon Paul Harvey might say, for those who want to know “the rest of the story.”
I Am A Man (through February 5); drama by OyamO about a 1968 strike by Memphis garbage stars Jack Agugliaro, Leon S. Copeland, Jr., Chantal Sade Dubose; Ernest “Buzzy” Griffin, Tom Izard, Pete Johnson, Shanntina Moore, India Moss, Lawrence Rowswell, Brandon Williamson and Harold Luther White. Directed by Annette Daniels Taylor for Subversive Theatre; Manny Fried Playhouse, 255 Great Arrow Avenue, Buffalo; subversivetheatre.org or 716-408-0499.
Conjoint Analysis
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Photo: Man, Oh, Man: T.O. Jones (Pete Johnson) barges into the office of the mayor of Memphis (Lawrence Rowswell).