Friday, September 26, 1997
Rainbow appears after life’s storm
THEATER: Black women band struggles, triumphs together to color
their sky
By Cheryl Klein
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Maybe the lack of air conditioning in Santa Monica’s
Morgan-Wixon Theatre is a good thing. As the lights dim in the
small playhouse, the evening heat can be felt in all its intensity.
But this helps set the scene: New Orleans in the summer. A
small-town dance club pulsing with young bodies. Or Harlem, hot and
glittering.
The scenes are anywhere black women have left their mark and
lived their lives – problems, triumphs and all. Ntozake Shange has
woven countless stories together in "For Colored Girls Who Have
Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf," a savory mix of
poetry, storytelling, song and dance.
With just two weeks left in its run, "For Colored Girls" is a
rich and vibrant way to tie off the summer. Although there is no
plot per se and the characters are nameless – labeled only "The
Lady in Yellow" or "The Lady in Red" – even people wary of
performance art will soon find themselves absorbed in the women’s
tales.
Six grown women transform into little girls: shuffling their
bare feet, twisting their hands, staring with incredulous brown
eyes at what the world has to offer. Often what awaits them isn’t
very positive. The characters recount first brushes with
heartbreak, harassment and disillusionment as they grow.
Always, there are men. Sometimes they leave; sometimes they stay
and make life hell.
J.J. Boone, who plays The Lady in Red, has the unique ability to
enrapture an entire audience with her throaty voice as she spins
the story of Chrystal, Bo and domestic violence. Bo blames everyone
but himself for his dismal life. Chrystal wants to leave, but stays
for the kids. When she can’t take any more abuse, Bo grabs their
two young children and suspends them out the window. It’s
Chrystal’s call.
This doesn’t require a fancy set or even more than one actor.
The audience can feel the couple’s spine-wrenching tension and
Chrystal’s horror as she watches all that she loves in the hands of
all that she hates.
Yes, life can become unbearable to the point of considering
suicide. But something holds the women together. Although "For
Colored Girls" lets the audience determine exactly what that
"something" is, it may have much to do with music, dance and the
rhythms of everyday life.
At several intervals throughout the play, the women jive
together – sometimes singing alone, sometimes as a group, sometimes
to recorded music offstage. It isn’t like a musical, where numbers
are defined and rehearsed. The play has an air of improvisation to
it: One woman will begin humming or shaking her shoulders and soon
all will be doing it. It’s a little like a slumber party as they
cheer each other on.
"We gotta dance to keep from crying," they say. And it works.
The dirt of the Mississippi delta, life’s hot indignities, the
stench of childhood grudges melt away till all that’s left is the
rainbow.
"When your body dances, your soul dances."
The lyrical dialogue that weaves the play tightly together is
reminiscent of Toni Morrison. There is a little "Bring in Da
Noise/Bring in Da Funk" element as the play portrays black history
through song and dance.
The six performers each contribute distinct, natural stripes of
the rainbow. The Lady in Blue (Anita Maria Taylor) is shy and
funny. The Lady in Brown (Shawnte Muwwakkil) captures a little
girl’s monologue perfectly as she recounts her first fantasy crush.
She has the breathy, escalating voice; the easy giggle; and the
fidgety limbs down.
"Sing a black girl’s song," The Woman in Orange implores.
Shange’s play does just that – loud, colorful and aching, with
long-deserved celebration. And it makes us all want to sing
along.
THEATER: "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the
Rainbow is Enuf" plays Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct.
4 at the Morgan-Wixon Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. For
more information, call 828-7519.
Morgan-Wixon Theatre
"For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow
is Enuf" plays through Oct. 4 at the Morgan-Wixon Theatre.