Not nearly as controversial as when it first premiered, but still packing quite a wallop thanks to standout performances by the two leads, the Off-Broadway revival of Amiri Baraka's 1964 drama Dutchman is a sobering portrait of race relations, and a sad realization that things haven't changed all that much in the 42 years since the show's premiere.
One evening on a New York City subway car, Clay (Dule Hill), a young black man dressed in a three-piece suit, is minding his own business until he notices Lula (Jennifer Mudge), a young white woman whose every movement is a "come-hither" offer of sexual promise. Cautious at first, Clay soon responds to Lulu's overtures only to find she has more in mind than a quick fling. Shifting moods almost continuously, she verbally attacks him and his heritage while at the same time urging him to become more than the image he hides behind. Lulu's penetrating insights and her seeming to know everything about Clay quickly unnerve him. Eventually, he erupts with his own tirade about just who and what he is.
While several of the references are dated, the anger behind them is not, showing the racial strife still existing in society. Perhaps most chilling are the other passenger's reactions to the interplay between Clay and Lula, especially their alternatively cowering in fear, laughing at racial remarks, and just not wanting to get involved.
Bill Duke's direction is fine in regards to the central plot, but slips a bit when trying to highlight the metaphysical aspect of the story (one which signifies a pattern fated to be repeated time and again), especially with the use of Paul Benjamin as the train conductor. Mudge is both rivitingly revolting and wonderfully appealing as Lula, a tortured soul searching for something she's unable to put into words, while Hill matchers her blow for blow as a man who just wants to be left alone but when pushed to the limit is more than willing to push back.
Also in the cast are Justin Carter, Christina Lind and Arthur Lunquist. The play also has good lighting effects by Jeff Croiter and video by Aaron Rhyne.
Dutchman
Cherry Lane Theatre
38 Commerce Street (in Greenwich Village)
Tickets: 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com
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All relationships take work, from before the first bloom of love appears to the struggle to keeping a marriage fresh and alive. Such is the territory traveled in Estimated Time of Arrival, billed as "a timetable of love lost, found or otherwise disrupted." This 80-minute evening of five stories (told by four different writers-Amy Fox, Lisa Ebersole, Anthony Minghella and Michael Weller) explores the trials and travails that go into dating, connecting, and what's required to stay together once you've found someone.
A talented cast (Jamie Proctor, Reese Madigan, Ethan James Duff and Sarah Megan Thomas) ably bring the stories to life; just about all of which (especially Fox's "Double Click," regarding looking for love via the Internet) could be expanded into full-length works. The most focused of the group is Weller's "Split Part One," about "the perfect couple" suddenly finding there's trouble in paradise-due to the lack of real communication between them. The most poignant piece is Minghella's "Hang Up," which heartbreakingly details the struggles of maintaining a long distance relationship. Filling out the evening are works about two people who run into each other at a coffee shop, and a former couple who meet five years after their breakup.
Estimated Time of Arrival works because it presents situations that everyone who has ever been in a relationship can understand—such as being awakened from a deep sleep by a call from one's love, the awkwardness of a first meeting, and perhaps most telling of all, wondering how much of oneself to reveal on that first date. Strong dialogue and sharp direction (the latter by Drew Decorleto) keeps the pieces moving smoothly. Chances are you'll find yourself nodding in rueful, wistful (or perhaps painful) understanding in at least a few of the situations presented on stage.
Estimated Time of Arrival
Presented by Thirteenth Night Theatre Company
Urban Stages Theatre
259 West 30th Street
Tickets: 212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com
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