The cast of “Fire and Cloud,” directed by Reginald C. Brown, prove that beneath the umbrella of artistry, subject matters such as racism, religion and politics are timeless and – if handled artfully – can transfer seamlessly between different mediums of expression without losing their message.
Brown’s stage adaptation of the fourth story in Richard Wright’s 1939 novel, “Uncle Tom’s Children,” opened and closed last weekend to packed houses. Fully appreciating the stage production required audience members to suspend their reality and allow their imagination to transform the pitch-black walls of Shafer Street Playhouse’s Newdick Theatre into a small town disrupted by socio-economic and racial oppression.
In “Fire” Reverend Dan Taylor (Corey Spruill) faces pressure from his hungry black congregation to lead a march alongside poor white Communists, “the Reds,” for an end to the food shortage.
Conflict abounds. Frustrated, angry blacks want to use violence to protest the racism, endangering their community. Deacon Smith (Jaye Finley) questions Taylor’s leadership and conspires to oust him from the church.
Rev.Taylor, having naively accepted favors with strings attached from Mayor Bolton (Elise Edwards) and other influential whites who seek to control the black community through him, rejects the Reds’ request to print his name on flyers that would increase the black turnout for the march.
Nevertheless, he half-heartedly commits to the demonstration and advises his community not to resort to violence. The mayor, refusing to rectify the food crisis in the black community, urges Rev. Taylor to use his influence to thwart the planned march.
The plot’s climax occurs when a group of whites attack Taylor, ridiculing and brutally whipping him. Taylor turns to God and whole-heartedly resolves to march with his congregation. When other blacks in the community suffer assaults at the hand of white oppressors, the blacks and communists unite and march.
The Newdick Theatre, which seats around 180, provided an intimate viewing of the play, its actors often recited their lines from the audience walkways.
The production wastes no time in flipping the light switch at the play’s beginning. Turning off the lights worked when it marked scene changes. Yet, the lights coordinator abused the lighting, producing a distracting lights-on-lights-off effect that left my head spinning and aching.
The only props on stage besides black cubes, the 13 phantom-of-the-opera-looking white masks juxtaposed the black set and actors’ black wardrobes. While assaulting Taylor the assailants wear the white masks, intensifying the odiousness of the act.
That scene provides Spruill, a senior acting and performance major, another moment to display his vast dramatic abilities.
In a role tailor-made for him, Spruill delivered the evening’s most impressive performance as Rev. Taylor. Clutching the Holy Bible most of play, he conveyed precisely the inner conflict of a man torn between serving his people, his God and maintaining peace with the antagonists.
Gender-bending aside, the cast does justice to Wright’s work – or as much justice as their thespian experience permitted. Edwards’ portrayal of the duplicitous Mayor Bolton is believable enough, although she lacked the skill to carry off completely such a shady character.
Edwards, wearing red suspenders, almost was more believable as a communist ally than as a corrupt bully. As the tough-talking Deacon Smith, Finley, a first-year performance showed impeccable comedic timing. Her lines were the only ones that garnered laughs at Sunday night’s performance.
Wright’s other acclaimed works include “Black Boy,” “Native Son,” “Lawd Today!” and “The Outsider”.