*Blame Adam. Not the original man for original sin, but Leo Adam Biga, The Reader’s prolific reporter, for my rather ordinary crime of skipping August Wilson plays at the John Beasley Theater.
Biga was quick to cover earlier offerings in Wilson’s 10-play Pittsburgh cycle, so I didn’t head south in time to catch them. I saw a moving excerpt performed by John and son Tyrone Beasley at the Great Plains Theater Conference, but finally lost my Wilson-Beasley virginity last weekend with their Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.
So, one night after seeing a brilliant treatment of a lightweight Bat Boy the Musical at the Omaha Community Playhouse, I was blessed with the best of dramatic literature performed by a cast that was completely appealing, from top to bottom. There’s not space enough here to define
each satisfying portrayal or retell the story of those gathered in a black boarding house in the second decade of the 20th century.
But John Beasley as the amiable, mystical Bynum, bringing folks together, and Tyrone as the ominous stranger searching for his wife, were well-supported by Carl Brooks and TammyRa as the grumpy landlord and his upbeat wife. It’s hard to imagine a more empathetic character than the abandoned woman played by Lakisha Cox, or two more appealing children than Nadia Williams, 9, and Larry Station, named for his father, the football linebacker.
The Beasley has now performed all but the final two plays in the Wilson cycle, King Hedley II and Radio Golf, set in the 1980s and 1990s. You may make the case for Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee or others, but don’t leave Wilson out of the argument when weighing America’s best of the last century.
No, it’s hardly fair to mention Bat Boy in the same Cold Cream, but credit director Carl Beck for taking that tabloid nonsense and combining an outrageously compelling performance by Tim Abou-Nasr in the title role with comic townspeople to prove again that he’s a theatrical alchemist, a modern-day Rapunzel spinning unlikely dross into stage gold.
* Three to get ready for: Creighton’s House of Blue Leaves, the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Waiting for Godot and the launch of aetherplough, co-founded by Thom Sibbitt and Susan Suprenant with Sarah and Vince Carlson-Brown.
They plan a fundraiser 7 p.m. Saturday at the Nomad Lounge, 1013 Jones with a performance called “passion.play” and silent art auction to support original performances.
— Warren Francke
25 Feb 2009
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