Sunday, August 02, 2009
A+E, Theater, Reviews, Atlanta

‘Rainbow’ dis-connection

‘Colored Girls’ shows its age

BY BERT OSBORNE

Black women have come a long way in the 35 years since Ntozake Shange was (sardonically, perhaps) still referring to them as colored girls in her famous feminist diatribe "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide ... When the Rainbow is Enuf."
 
In the interest of full disclosure, I guess I should mention that I’m a white male, probably the last demographic on earth that Shange’s "choreopoem" cares about addressing—and I’ll even admit that maybe it’s just like a man to insensitively describe the play as a diatribe. But the truth is that, all these decades later, it’s the rather narrow view of feminism in "For Colored Girls" that hasn’t held up very well. In 1975, the lives of black women remained fairly uncharted territory in the theater; in 2009, that isn’t so much the case. Instead of transcending its time, though, Shange’s drama feels like an outdated relic of it.
 
Using six actresses to perform some 20 monologues, the show is often criticized for "male-bashing"—which is hard to deny, and yet somewhat excusable, given the circumstances of these particular characters. Less easy to grasp in this day and age is their co-dependency on men in the first place. The women are meant to represent a wide array of the black female experience, but one habit they each share is defining themselves largely in terms of their relationships with men. What kind of feminist statement is that? It makes you wish Shange would write a 21st-century update, with characters who are older or wiser enough to know that they don’t necessarily need a man to get what they want out of life.
 
Having staged it last fall for IKAM, director Jasmine Guy essentially brings Atlanta’s ’08-’09 theater season full circle with her vibrant and fluid True Colors remount. Sumptuously redesigned—set by Rochelle Barker, lighting by Andre Allen, costumes by John Hardy and Shane Wallace—this version also boasts two noteworthy additions to the cast: TV/movie stars Robin Givens and Nicole Ari Parker. The rest of Guy’s uniformly talented ensemble reprise their roles: Danielle Deadwyler, Yakini Horn, Nevaina Rhodes and the ever-amazing Crystal Fox, who steals the show again with one gut-wrenching scene that even a white guy can relish in awe.
 
Composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz has come a long way in 35 years, too. Before he became known mainly for his wildly successful "Wicked," he got his start in the early ’70s with a quaint little piece called "Godspell." Based on artistic director Robert Egizio’s Stage Door Players rendition, "Pippin," Schwartz’s sophomore effort, hasn’t aged much better than "For Colored Girls." A tame, lighthearted musical set during the dark and brutal Middle Ages, the show follows a cute and wholesome young hero (Will Bradley) on a quest to find meaning in his life, and it features a seedy narrator (Chuck Calvello) who looks like he stepped out of "Cabaret."
 
With musical direction by Linda Uzelac and choreography by Jen MacQueen, the production numbers are diverting enough. But after several mildly entertaining bits in the first act (courtesy of Craig Waldrip, Rachel White and Denise Arribas), the second act devolves into a conventional romance, where even a kinky foot fetish can’t make the love interest (Courtney Foster Donahue) overly interesting. SP