- OTHER MEDIA
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- review in the San Francisco Chronicle
- by Robert Hurwitt
 The inimitable Suzan-Lori Parks exploits and
explodes racial stereotypes and archetypes in a smart, funny, densely allusive
and strangely moving, 70-minute, non-linear exploration of African American
history, rife with provocative cultural and literary references. Rob Melrose's
savvy Cutting Ball Theater staging of the 1990 play is sharply observed,
strikingly designed and graced with some riveting performances.
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- The hero is named Black Man with Watermelon. Other characters speak
their names as they enter: Lots of Grease and Lots of Pork, Queen-then-Pharaoh
Hatshepsut, And Bigger and Bigger and Bigger, Voice on Thuh Tee V, Yes
and Greens Black-Eyed Peas Cornbread. But the name of the play is just
as transgressive -- "The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole
Entire World."
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- The inimitable genius of Suzan-Lori Parks is on display in a remarkably
ambitious Cutting Ball Theater production, smartly staged by Artistic Director
Rob Melrose at Exit on Taylor. This is heady, challenging drama, comic,
thought-provoking and somewhat subversively moving. Parks exploits and
explodes stereotypes and archetypes in a non-linear exploration of African
American history and present realities. Her bracingly unique style is densely
poetic and surprisingly clear, a blend of street vernacular and the influences
of Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Adrienne Kennedy, Beckett and many others.
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- Melrose and his large cast handle the language beautifully for the
most part, parsing the dense vernacular with clarity and distinct nuance.
Liliana Duque Piñeiro's stunning, artifact-cluttered set, Claire
Calderwood's savvy costumes and Cliff Caruthers' allusive thumb-piano score
play off Parks' use of stereotypes to elegant, insightful effect. Myers
Clark (Black Man) and Allison L. Payne (Black Woman with Fried Drumstick)
are riveting in the lead roles, with striking work by a regal LeNeac Weathersby
(Hatshepsut), smooth Robert Henry Johnson (Before Columbus), jive Steve
Crum (Ham), school-girlish Felicia Benefield (Prunes and Prisms) and tormented
Dwight Huntsman (Bigger, borrowed from Richard Wright's "Native Son").
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- There are a few slack moments, but this is early, difficult Parks.
"Black Man" is from 1990, when she was in transition from more
densely allusive works such as "Imperceptible Mutabilities in the
Third Kingdom" to her great "The America Play" -- before
turning more accessible for the Pulitzer-winning "Topdog/Underdog."
It's an important piece for anyone interested in the future of American
theater. As staged by Cutting Ball, it's also a pleasure
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