Red Velvet-theater review
December 17, 2017
L-R Greg Matthew Anderson, Dion Johnstone photo: Liz Lauren
Dion Johnstone photo: Liz Lauren
Theater
December 17, 2017
Red Velvet
By Betty Mohr
The individual who is willing to break barriers, to disagree with the majority, and to act on his own judgement has been, throughout history, rejected by friends and family, ostracized by the mob, and shunned by the powers that be. The individual who disagrees with others and stands alone has been laughed at, ignored, attacked, injured, and whatever else it takes to destroy his independence. Indeed, thinking for oneself is the most dangerous thing an individual can do.
Such is the case in Red Velvet. The play centers on the real-life story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who became famous for his Shakespearean performances in the mid-nineteenth century. In British playwright Lolita Chakrabarti’s drama, Aldridge is the groundbreaking African-American who blazes a unique trail through the London and Polish theater at an age when slavery was in place in America and around the world.
The play, which received its premiere in 2012 in London, is now in an eye-opening, riveting revival at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in Chicago. Directed by the sure hand of Gary Griffin, Red Velvet revolves not only on the way that Aldridge stood out against the prejudice of his day, but also on his new style of acting that went against the established pattern in theater of his day.
December 17, 2017
Red Velvet
By Betty Mohr
The individual who is willing to break barriers, to disagree with the majority, and to act on his own judgement has been, throughout history, rejected by friends and family, ostracized by the mob, and shunned by the powers that be. The individual who disagrees with others and stands alone has been laughed at, ignored, attacked, injured, and whatever else it takes to destroy his independence. Indeed, thinking for oneself is the most dangerous thing an individual can do.
Such is the case in Red Velvet. The play centers on the real-life story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who became famous for his Shakespearean performances in the mid-nineteenth century. In British playwright Lolita Chakrabarti’s drama, Aldridge is the groundbreaking African-American who blazes a unique trail through the London and Polish theater at an age when slavery was in place in America and around the world.
The play, which received its premiere in 2012 in London, is now in an eye-opening, riveting revival at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in Chicago. Directed by the sure hand of Gary Griffin, Red Velvet revolves not only on the way that Aldridge stood out against the prejudice of his day, but also on his new style of acting that went against the established pattern in theater of his day.
l-R Dion Johnstone, Chaon Cross p: Liz Johnstone
Staged within designer Scott M. Davis’s Victorian red-curtained set and Mara Blumenfeld’s evocative period costumes, the play is focused on a singular event that changed Aldridge’s life.
The story begins in1860 when a sick and tired Aldridge prepares to play Shakespeare’s King Lear in a Polish theater. As he works on his part, he recalls his early years on the London stage and is transformed into his younger self at the peak of his acting prowess.
The play continues in the past as we watch as Pierre LaPorte (Greg Matthew Anderson), the manager of the Royale, decide to give Aldridge the part of Shakespeare’s Othello. That’s the part that Edmund Kean, a white actor, usually played. His son, Charles (Michael Hayden) who expected to take over for his father is angry at being passed over for Aldridge. He’s also upset that his wife, Ellen Tree (Chaon Cross) is playing opposite Aldridge as his stage wife Desdemona.
Furthermore, Charles becomes even more enraged when he discovers that Aldridge has convinced his wife to change her acting style from the stiff manner of talking to the audience in favor of a natural and more realistic performance in which characters relate to each other. The historical chronicle of that change is captivating, not only for its depiction of the relationship between the co-stars, but for the progression of portrayal that is today the norm in theater.
The story begins in1860 when a sick and tired Aldridge prepares to play Shakespeare’s King Lear in a Polish theater. As he works on his part, he recalls his early years on the London stage and is transformed into his younger self at the peak of his acting prowess.
The play continues in the past as we watch as Pierre LaPorte (Greg Matthew Anderson), the manager of the Royale, decide to give Aldridge the part of Shakespeare’s Othello. That’s the part that Edmund Kean, a white actor, usually played. His son, Charles (Michael Hayden) who expected to take over for his father is angry at being passed over for Aldridge. He’s also upset that his wife, Ellen Tree (Chaon Cross) is playing opposite Aldridge as his stage wife Desdemona.
Furthermore, Charles becomes even more enraged when he discovers that Aldridge has convinced his wife to change her acting style from the stiff manner of talking to the audience in favor of a natural and more realistic performance in which characters relate to each other. The historical chronicle of that change is captivating, not only for its depiction of the relationship between the co-stars, but for the progression of portrayal that is today the norm in theater.
Dion Johnstone at center, with ensemble p: Liz Lauren
To create a compelling presentation, Aldridge presents a frightening scene in which he appears to be strangling Desdemona (Shakespeare’s Othello is black and his wife Desdemona is white). That incites violent criticism from the press who cannot stomach a black man acting in such proximity with a white woman. Charles is forced to close the theater and Aldridge is thrown off the London stage.
A bold and fearless work, Red Velvet rises and falls on Johnstone’s performance—which is as gripping as it gets. His versatility in which he switches from a self-assertive, attractive youth to a bent-over old man, shattered by press and society, is powerfully rendered.
Others in the ensemble who enhance the production include: Roderick Peeples, always a magnetic actor, who here delivers a fine portrayal of a man who sees no wrong in slavery; Jurgan Hooper, convincing as the young man devoted to Aldridge, and Tiffany Renee Johnson, terrific as the black maid who harbors no pretense about the facts of life for a black man.
While Red Velvet’s ending is not upbeat, it is revealing and instructive. Chakrabarti demonstrates how vicious and destructive is the resentment of the masses for those who think differently. In an era where so many are turning to violence against those with whom they disagree, this play provides a lesson for our time.
Red Velvet
When: Through January 21, 2017; Where: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago; Tickets: $48-$88; Information: Call 312.595.5600 or visit www.ChicagoShakes.com
A bold and fearless work, Red Velvet rises and falls on Johnstone’s performance—which is as gripping as it gets. His versatility in which he switches from a self-assertive, attractive youth to a bent-over old man, shattered by press and society, is powerfully rendered.
Others in the ensemble who enhance the production include: Roderick Peeples, always a magnetic actor, who here delivers a fine portrayal of a man who sees no wrong in slavery; Jurgan Hooper, convincing as the young man devoted to Aldridge, and Tiffany Renee Johnson, terrific as the black maid who harbors no pretense about the facts of life for a black man.
While Red Velvet’s ending is not upbeat, it is revealing and instructive. Chakrabarti demonstrates how vicious and destructive is the resentment of the masses for those who think differently. In an era where so many are turning to violence against those with whom they disagree, this play provides a lesson for our time.
Red Velvet
When: Through January 21, 2017; Where: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand Ave., Chicago; Tickets: $48-$88; Information: Call 312.595.5600 or visit www.ChicagoShakes.com