B.R.O.K.E.N code B.I.R.D switching
Berkshire Theatre Group
Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Written by Tara L. Wilson Noth, directed by Kimille Howard
“Crying is a release…”
Olivia Bennett is a happily married woman, a lawyer whose work is rarely antagonistic, rarely combative. She is happily married to Mark Bennett, another lawyer. Their marriage seems ideal; they are loving, affectionate, on the same page about music and books and just about everything else. They disagree on one thing, though they seldom address it. They have lost a child in its infancy. Olivia has never gotten over this loss while Mark seems to have let it go. This issue ultimately breaks them up and not their affairs with other people. This is one of the anomalies in a new play having its world premiere at the Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, MA.The seeming closeness of Olivia and Mark is disturbed by Olivia’s reluctant acceptance of a case about a young man, Deshawn Payne, who is accused of murder and who will not defend himself or fight the system that vilifies Black people.
What happens to them in the next two hours and ten minutes is the life dreams are made of. Weeks fly by as Olivia and her client spar. He is half her age, only 15, but his automatic reactions to everything she has to offer soon become stale, and she is faced with a blank page on which nothing is written. Justin Sturgis plays Deshawn. As a scene partner he is terrific. He is hiding something from her, it becomes clear, and when he finally opens up and confesses the truth to Olivia, it is a most dynamic scene, a worthwhile goal for an actor to reach. Sturgis plays the moment with total brilliance, and it is devastating to see and hear. This is a young actor of power and dimension who stands a good, no, a very good chance of a strong career ahead, and we get to see him first which is an unexpected treat.
Deshawn has been befriended by a photographer who seems to pledge support and encouragement to both the boy and his lawyer, Olivia. That bringer of faith, Porter, comes close to bringing real joy to both and Olivia slips into the romance of such a friendship. Porter, played by Jahi Kearse, is as real a frenemy as one could wish for in a play of this magnitude. Which brings me to the play itself.
Tara L. Wilson Noth has written a new classic. It is confusing at the start, but slowly reveals the secrets behind the woman in a bathrobe wandering the city streets. What seems a dream turns into the ultimate reality as the truths of her existence start to resonate and the story’s romantic aspects replace Olivia’s former reality. It takes Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” to task for only showing us moments behind his decision-making. Olivia displays a maelstrom of moments to get to hers. This play has legs. It also has hands, and limbs and mind. It is a privilege to see it.
Also in the cast are Rebecca L. Hargrove as Katherine, who seduces Mark, and Almeria Campbell who, as Deshawn’s mother, seduces Olivia into the two most devastating affairs of her life. Both actresses are superb. Torsten Johnson plays Mark with a highly sensitive nature. He does it so well that we almost forget he is acting.
Kimille Howard has held the controls as director and the work is precise and specific, each character always in place and each relationship always on the money. The production has a wonderful team of designers who deliver a stunning production with projections that often shock with perspective. Olivia’s office, for example, is in a room at the end of a long, professional building’s corridor that seems genuine as we look at it and marvel at the work of Projection Designer David Murakami. The costumes are designed by Danielle Preston and the lighting design is by John D. Alexander. It all comes together nicely on the simple but functional set designed by Baron E. Pugh. Under their combined efforts the small Larry Vaber stage at the Unicorn Theatre becomes enormous, a world alone on which this story plays out.
World Premieres can be devastating and this one is no exception. A talented new voice is given a professional hearing and the results, with this amazing cast and crew, are truly devastating. This is a play you must see and in a limited run which means buying your tickets today!
“B.R.O.K.E.N code B.I.R.D switching” plays at the Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theater at 6 East Street, Stockbridge, MA through July 9. For information and tickets call 413-997-4444 or go to their website.
