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| L - R Alisa Murray, Dee Dee Stephens, Vanoy Burnough - Photos by Alberto Santillan |
By Joe Straw
Pledging a fraternity in the south in the 1970s—after weeks of working
hard, getting signatures and cleaning the fraternity house, I heard that I was
being blackballed. Actually that didn’t surprise me, what surprised me was that
my lifelong friends, at that time, told me there was nothing to worry
about. “Well”, they said, “not much.”
I knew who was throwing the blackball my way. Not much I could do about it except try not
to worry, keep a low profile, and keep moving in the right direction.
The big night came; they put my pledge class, about 11 of us, in an
unkempt room upstairs in the frat house.
We sat among the stench of wet towels, soiled sheets, and someone’s ungodly
body order, waiting.
Some had somber faces before they were led down to be grilled. First they asked questions; then they threw
the pledge out the front door like a scene from a western movie.
Now it was my turn. I took the blindfolded steps down the stairway
and into the living room.
A fraternity brother yanked the blindfold off and splashed the spotlight
into my face. Gorgonized, I saw the shadows
of about forty members sitting on used dilapidated furniture around the living room;
ever so quiet except for the occasional beer can being crushed under the weight
of someone’s foot, but nevertheless, between belches, they took their jabs and jobs
very seriously and asked poignant questions.
Some questions were easy, others were harder, and then came this, “Are
you a smart ass?”
I knew who it was, I let out an exasperated sigh, mixed with a smile,
and said: “When I’m in the mood.”
I heard unexpected laughter, all around the room, even from the questioner
and for the time being I was saved. – Narrator
The world premier play, The
Daughters of the Kush by George Corbin and directed by Veronica Thompson is
now playing at the Stella Adler Theatre through October 29th, 2017 in
Hollywood. The Robey Theatre Company Advance Playwrights Lab developed the play.
The smallest of lies can alter a life dramatically. The lie can be historic or current, either way
it can have a lasting effect.
The time of the play is 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X are
having a dramatic impact on African American college students. Little went unnoticed,
from the Civil Rights protest to the four young girls killed in the 16th
Street Church Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama (Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia
Wesley, Carol Robertson and Carol Denise McNair).
But now, Clara (Vanoy Burnough), Brenda (Dee Dee Stephen),
and Rhonda (Alisa Murray) are in a lot of trouble. They, members of the Kappa Lambda Nu sorority,
sit politely in chairs and wait for the questions they know will be coming.
Campus police Sgt. Diggs (Mack Miles) is the only African-American officer at Plaines University, which is located in Iowa. He watches the polite young ladies intently as
he questions their nocent world about the death of a white pledge, Kathy
(Hannah Mae Sturges), who allegedly threw herself out of an eight-story dorm
room.
There’s something wrong in their answers, the way they speak
about Kathy, the deceased. Rhonda is
deeply upset and crying. Brenda, president chair and pre-law major, is cautious
about disclosing information. Clara, the
pledge chair, is angry about the way things went down, throwing out false
information and misleading statements. The three indicate they will help in the
investigation.
Sgt. Diggs moves on to collect more
evidence before the night is through.
And then, we go back in time to see how the drama unfolds.
Rhonda, Brenda and Clara sit in Clara’s bedroom, along with Ida (Paris Nicole),
an exuberant Kandie pledge, willing to do anything to make her sisters
happy. They put Kandie pledge Ida to
work shining shoes when Frat Boy (Conor Sheehan) busts into their room on a
panty raid.
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| L - R Conor Sheehan, Vanoy Burnough, and Paris Nicole |
But, white Frat Boy wears a Confederate uniform and
immediately knows he is in the wrong place. The girls grab him and tie him to a
chair. And straightaway, they ask
questions, get creative, and put him on a mock trial, until an authoritative
voice is heard coming from the hall.
They paint Frat boy’s face with black shoe polish and untie him before
they throw him into the hall and all is back to normal.
The young ladies cheer and dance suddenly stopping when Kandie
pledge Ida oversteps by joining in and dancing exuberantly. Ida stops, rings
her tiny bell, and is dismissed.
College life continues when Kathy, having set her sights on Kappa
Lambda Nu, first inches her way in through Rhonda’s psychology club and then battles
through Clara’s obstructionism. Later,
Kathy has the attention of Barry (Brandon Raines), a white assistant track
coach; unfortunately Clara has her eyes on him as well.
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| Brandon Raines and Vanoy Burnough |
And, for the sake of reality, not once on this night did I
see anyone open a book and study.
George Corbin,
the playwright, has written a fascinating play that captures the spirit of the
times. And while not everything works, there is burning energy and a wonderful
core from which to build from this solid foundation. When moments are simple,
Corbin excels in dramatic ecstasy. For
example, light skinned Clara’s wonderful story about her white father. Also, the
dancing scene with Rhonda and Kathy is so delightful because it starts with a
confession, to a plea, and ends in a delightful unity of compassion and love.
These are the moments that stay with you long after the night has past.
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| Hannah Mae Sturges and Alisa Murray |
Daughters of the Kush, (the sorority sisters) refers to the
women who were from a country south of Egypt, which is now Sudan, and one would
suggest the women of that region were dark, all dark.
Sadly we don’t see the sorority sisters get together and discuss
allowing a white girl to pledge. There is no scene showing Kathy, her sponsor
Rhonda, being introduced to the rest of the sorority sisters.
One thinks the character Barry is responsible for the trouble the young ladies have all gotten themselves into but his actions on stage were pretty tame, even for 1963.
One thinks the character Barry is responsible for the trouble the young ladies have all gotten themselves into but his actions on stage were pretty tame, even for 1963.
What fails to work are the scenes of hatred that has one sister
threating a pledge do to her dirty work for ambiguous reasons. Those scenes require the character to show us
the connection, a visible and viable backstory that ties her to that desperate action.
Also, we are left in the end with the major characters not
really feeling good about how their relationship has ended because of this tragedy.
And they all go on with their lives holding on to another grave secret, a
secret that protects the bonds of being sorority sisters, but ultimately hurts
their being as they move on in life.
Also, one got the impression from the first scene that the
sisters were recreating the events for the campus police, the reason we go back
in time. This was not the case.
Veronica Thompson,
the director, does well in this outing except for the scene changes, which are
long and laborious, and stop the momentum of play. Set pieces moved creatively
by actors would accomplish two things, one: give real life interactions as one
would see in academia and two, would creatively move the play along
judiciously. Aside from dramatic costume
changes, the actors need never leave the stage, or possibly they may move in
just before their scene. Clara’s scene
alone on stage where she suddenly turns into an angry women, didn’t work, and
there wasn’t a basis for why it was there or how it moved the play along.
One would like to see the dance number at curtain call moved
up to near the beginning and used as a recruiting device for prospective
pledges performed in the commons. This will also facilitate a stronger bond and
a richer history between the sisters.
Then move on to the psychology club scene.
Nancy Renee,
Costume Designer, does magnificent work dressing everyone in the 1963 period,
and that was outstanding!
Vanoy Burnough
has some marvelous moments as Clara.
Through a set of circumstances she becomes a heavy character in this
play and very hard to like at the end. There must be a better approach to the
character as she moves in ways that are unbecoming, threatening (the screw driver
scene was too much), and sometimes dangerous.
The scene about her father was outstanding and maybe that is the key for
other moments in the play with her boyfriend, the pledge, and her sorority
sisters.
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| Mack Miles |
Mack Miles seemed
to have opening night jitters in his first moments as Diggs. Those early moments on stage need to set a
tone, as the sorority sisters recreate the events leading up to Kathy’s death. But
by the end, Miles settled down and really had the character nailed. Miles has a
wonderful look and was exceptional.
Alisa Murray is
delightful as Rhonda. She is a stunning actor with expressive eyes and an
extremely viable craft. Initially, she won’t give an inch to let a white girl
join her sorority, but eventually she is open to the possibility, and these
transitions in the character present an exceptional craft.
Paris Nicole has
some terrific moments as Ida. And, as
far as the progression of the play, her moments accumulated quite nicely right
up until the end of the play. It was terrific work and Nicole was outstanding.
Dee Dee Stephens
has a stoic presence as Brenda, the leader or president of these young
ladies. Brenda does not give away much
and, because she knows everyone’s secret, the less she says the better it is
for all of them. Still I would want to
know: what drives this character and what overreaching conflict keeps her from
getting it?
Hanna Mae Sturges
is terrific as Kathy. Sturges has a
strong craft and is powerful in her scenes.
But, everything seems so easy for her. She gets her way, all of the
time. She gets the boyfriend. She is easy to get along with. Where is the conflict that keeps her from
reaching her objective? What drives her and why is she not getting it?
Brandon Raines
employs his southern accent (Tennessee?) as Barry, the white assistant track coach,
who is single and on the prowl. We need
more of a backstory from Raines. Also, we need to see the thing that keeps him from kissing the girl. In order for there to be more dramatic
conflict, we need to see a stronger interest in both women, in fact this white
character should take these choices to the extreme measure to give dramatic
movement to the story.
Connor Sheehan is
terrific as the confederate Frat Boy.
The scene he is in plays very well.
There is more to add to this character, humiliation is one thing that
would give this character more mileage in this scene. Revenge is another,
revenge to those that got him in this predicament. A sincere apology would work
and maybe a panty for his effort. He can do this without adding dialogue.
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| Charlotte Evelyn Williams |
Charlotte Evelyn Williams did not perform the night I was there.
Kappa Lambda Nu is the name of this fictionalized sorority
in this play. (Kappa Lambda Nu was also the name of a fraternity in the
successful television show “A Different World”, in fact Wikipedia has a list of
fictionalized fraternities and sororities if one were interested. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_fraternities_and_sororities).
Other members of the crew are as follows:
Kristina Roth – Production Stage
Manager
Kenneth Cosby – Lighting Designer/Projectionist
Mark V. Jones – Set Designer
Christian Cesena – Assistant Stage Manager
Melvin Ishmael Johnson – Production Consultant
JC Cadena – Social Media Director
Kurt Maxey – Consultant
Judy Bowman – Promotion
The welcomers in the front of the house were so
welcoming! They are as follows:
Charlotte Plummer
Pam Noles
Raquel Rosser
Levi Austin Morris
Spencer Frankeberger
Run! And take a
sorority sister with you. Between the dramas
there are a lot of funny moments in this play that you will both enjoy.
Stella Adler Theatre
6773 Hollywood Blvd. 2nd Floor
Hollywood, CA 90028
Reservations: 213-908-5032
Online Ticketing: https://corbinkush.eventbrite.com
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