REFLECTIONS ON RACISM AND REAL ESTATE AT ACT 
                                              By V.I. Hambleton
        artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area theater
                                                                 Weeks starting Feb. 2, 2011
                                                                 Vol. 13, No. 61

            A stimulating new play about the many ways of expressing racism, Clybourne Park at ACT inspires reflection and conversation long after you have left the theatre.
            Bruce Norris’s play has a connection to a much earlier dramatic production:  Lorraine Hansberry’s “Raisin in the Sun” which ends with the Younger family having bought a house in an all-white neighborhood.  Clybourne Park  opens in the house that has been sold to the Youngers; the year is 1959. We slowly learn of tragic circumstances that led Russ (Anthony Fusco) and Bev (Rene´ Augesen) to sell:   their son Kevin, a Korean war veteran, hanged himself in his bedroom.  The Negro maid, Francine (Omoze´ Idehenre) is helping Bev with packing, and in Bev’s scattered well-meaning exchanges with Francine and her husband Albert (Gregory Wallace) we hear the first subtle racist expressions.
           Jim (Manoel Felciano), family friend, minister (or priest) arrives.  He fancies himself a therapist and comes to aid Russ who is angry and repressed, eager to move and not interested in talking about his feelings.  Neighbor Karl (Richard Thieriot) phones  several times and then shows up with  Betsy (Emily Kitchens) his very pregnant and deaf wife. Russ does not want Jim’s advice and angrily rejects Karl’s presence and his point of view.  Karl has learned that Russ and Bev sold their house to a Negro family, and his comments are both merciless and comedic.  He wants Russ to cancel the sale, proposes alternatives, and raves about the catastrophe that will follow when a black family moves into the neighborhood.  With all principals now on stage the dialogue, replete with evasions, euphemisms, and racially offensive remarks escalates and ends with door-slamming exits.
          When Act Two opens, 50 years have gone by.  It is 2009, and we are in the same house, now something of a wreck.  Graffiti decorate the walls and plastic replaces a door.  The neighborhood has turned toward gentrification and young families are moving in.  Lindsey and Karl (Emily Kitchens and Richard Thieriot) are new buyers who are planning to add a third story to their house.  Homeowners Association attorneys (Rene´ Augesen and Anthony Fusco) point out that the association is opposed to the third story; it would damage the architectural integrity  of the neighborhood.  Neighbors Lena and Kevin (Omoze´ Idehenre and Gregory Wallace), an African-American couple, are also opposed out of a desire to respect history and tradition.  The conversation sounds pretty normal at first--even the part about frequent interruptions for cell-phone calls.  But gradually the language drifts into dangerous territory;  something about it begins to make one uncomfortable, anticipating what is to come.  Karl starts to tell a joke, Lindsey tries to shut him up, it has a racist punch line, and you would not call what follows a conversation.  Norris makes points with comedic exchanges between the characters that are right on the mark. The issues that came up in the first act are played from the other side of the net, so to speak.  This is a play that prompts continued conversation after leaving the theatre.
          Jonathan Moscone directed; he succeeded in achieving a rhythm and sensitivity that moves this performance well out of the ordinary.  Each actor had two or more parts to play and they were all top-notch.Ralph Funicello’s sets (both of them!) were so good I left wondering how the disaster in the second act could be spiffed up again in time for the first act for the next performance. 
          You won't want to miss this one. (Ed. note, 2/1/11: Posting was delayed by transmission problems. Apologies, readers!)
          Clybourne Park at ACT, San Francisco will run through Feb. 20. For info: (415) 749-2250, or go online.
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        © V.I. Hambleton 2011
            V.I. Hambleton is a regular theater reviewer for artssf.com.
    These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never weakly) focus on theater, dance and new musical creativity in performance, with forays into recordings by local artists, and a few departures into books (by authors of the region)as well.
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