THE BASICS: MIRACLE IN LEVITTOWN, a play by Buffalo’s Michael Fanelli, presented by Subversive Theatre Collective (“Subversive”) at The New Phoenix Theatre, concludes its three week run this Sunday at 3:00pm. (716-608-3001) subversivetheatre.org The theater is located at 95 Johnson Park, Buffalo, NY. Runtime: 55 minutes, no intermission, refreshments available before and after the show.
THUMBNAIL SKETCH: With the tagline “Little Zazu learns about Critical Race Theory” the play is described by Subversive as “an off-the-wall, tongue-in-cheek, mind-bending misadventure that takes audiences to a spoofy part two of Miracle on 34th Street where the sweet little girl from the classic Christmas Tale discovers the ugly truth about racial discrimination in the new housing development that her family has just moved into and embarks on a surreal eye-opening odyssey through past, present, and future.”
Zazu, a white girl, has asked the department store Santa if she can become black so as to gain perspective on life in America. The black Santa says that if she believes she can… and she does! Her white parents, at first dismayed that having a black daughter will prevent them from moving into their brand new house in the newly constructed suburb called Levittown, stand by their daughter as we meet a series of American Presidents in the form of avatars, who “mansplain” how their administration was not really at fault. These avatars/presidents include Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Donald Trump. We also meet developer Robert Moses whose parkways made possible the segregated suburban communities, the most famous being “Levittown.” That was a planned community for returning GIs of cookie-cutter houses on 25×30 concrete slabs with two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen with all new appliances, and rules such as no hanging laundry on the weekends. Blacks were actively discouraged from moving there and the banks and local ordinances were complicit in this segregation.
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: After almost two years it felt good to be handed a playbill printed on the traditional orange paper always used by Kurt Schneiderman’s Subversive Theatre Collective. I saw that orange and thought “Ah, theater really IS back!”
In September in advance of the recent Artie Awards I had posted on Facebook: “So, I like a well-appointed theater as much as anyone, with easy access, comfortable chairs, nice HVAC system, spacious lounge, and all the rest. But looking over the list of Artie nominees for tonight’s event at 8pm I was struck that 3 of the 5 nominees (as in 60%) for OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF A PLAY happened on possibly the crappiest stage in town, home to dozens of my favorite productions, the so-called ‘Manny Fried Playhouse’ on the second floor of the old Pierce-Arrow building on Great Arrow Avenue. Hot in summer, freezing in winter, rickety seating, with actors entering from and exiting to the hallway. English actor Kenneth Haigh said: ‘You need three things in the theater – the play, the actors and the audience, and each must give something.’ He didn’t say anything about the performance space.”
Well, “that” space has gone the way of progress as the Pierce Arrow building is being rehabbed. And just as other plucky theater companies in town such as “American Repertory Theatre,” “Second Generation Theatre,” “O’Connell and Company,” “Raíces Theater,” and “Road Less Traveled Productions” have had to relocate, I hope that Subversive can tuck in somewhere, perhaps more permanently at Johnson Park. Who knows? But if you, like little Zazu in this play, believe, and want to support their mission, you can help them with a donation to their Gofundme “rebirth” campaign.
I appreciated the deliberate casting of black actors in the roles of Santa, Zazu, and Thomas Jefferson. And certainly the cast and the audience enjoyed the costumes (on a budget) by Betty Ann Pitts and Ebony Pace, with such delicious details as Donald Trump incarcerated at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary wearing orange (too “meta”?) as prisoner number 45. Or President Jefferson represented by wearing a vest with his pants rolled up to just below the knee imitating 18th century breeches. Again, clever on a budget.
However, as much as I love Subversive, this play is not good. Just as Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspired by the 818-page Ron Chernow biography of Alexander Hamilton, here Buffalo playwright Michael Fanelli was inspired by the 368-page Richard Rothstein book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. Unfortunately, unlike the musical HAMILTON which itself deals with a number of issues, but had the time, talent, development period to fix any problems, the small budget MIRACLE IN LEVITTOWN is too scattershot. The focus is lost.
Simply put, Fanelli is attempting to put the contents of a book which apparently takes close to ten hours to enjoy as an audiobook into one tenth that time on stage. Representing most of the key players as one-dimensional cartoon figures could be said to speed things up, but a lot of context is lost. The production smacks of a college fraternity skit.
Most of the cast is fine, some are excellent, but when the lead role forgets his lines and mumbles through the rest, it’s a problem.
Lead image: L-R Zazu, FDR, mom, dad
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!