“One Night …” at the Cherry Lane Theatre (Through December 15, 2013)
Rutina Wesley as Alicia G/Photo by Sandra Coudert
“One Night …” at the Cherry Lane Theatre (Through December 15, 2013) Written by Charles Fuller Directed by Clinton Turner Davis Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
The utter moral ambiguity of war and its accoutrements is powerfully reflected in Charles Fuller’s spellbinding “One Night …” the co-production of Cherry Lane Theatre and Rattlestick Playeright’s Theatre currently running at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Although Mr. Fuller’s play provides no new information about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome in returning war veterans – that is not the purpose of this important play – it does focus on important matters of motivation, including the need to confess and the desire to be forgiven.
Alicia G (Rutina Wesley) ends up living in her car behind her mother’s house after returning from serving in the military in Iraq. Alicia has not only been brutalized by the vivid and recurring memories of her time in Iraq; she continues to be brutalized by the equally vivid and recurring memory of the one night she was gang-raped by fellow servicemen. Alicia is surprised by a visit from Horace Lloyd (Grantham Coleman) the fellow serviceman who, after fourteen months, has managed to track her down, travel to her home, and offer to help her out of her homeless despair.
This odd liaison lands the pair in a shelter which mysteriously burns to the ground and relocates them in a nearby motel for one night. And it is in this motel, in the midst of PTSD flashbacks, that another mystery is solved; namely, who was responsible for the gang-rape of Alicia G. Not unlike a cat-and-mouse thriller, “One Night …” explores the motivations of Horace and Alicia as they delve deeper into the relationship that has tapped into their matrix of co-dependence and search for unconditional and non-judgmental love.
Grantham Coleman and Rutina Wesley use their formidable craft to skillfully and carefully peel away the fear-laden layers of their characters’ personalities. Watching these two young actors provides a window into the tortured lives of two veterans scarred not only by war but by their disparate backgrounds and baggage. Their characters are manipulative, frightened, combative, angry, and confused and Mr. Coleman and Ms. Wesley give performances that permit the audience to question everything they previously believed about war and peace.
Motel owner Meny (Cortez Nance, Jr.) is the “stateside” version of the battlefields abroad who fails to understand why Horace would object to pimping Alicia to his hourly-rate clients. Mr. Nance portrays Meny with all the character’s smarminess and depravity firmly in place. K. K. Moggie and Matthew Montelongo handily portray the characters that inhabit Alicia’s and Horace’s debilitating PTSD flashbacks and memories.
“One Night …” is a hauntingly powerful extended metaphor for all the atrocities of war and the effects those offenses have on returning serviceman and their families. It raises important questions – most with no specific answer – about what is delusional and what is real; who is crazy and who is not; racism; sexism; and the necessity of war. This is not an easy menu of queries to resolve; however, Mr. Fuller’s play, under Clinton Turner Davis’s resplendent and firm direction, does raise the significant questions about the human condition when it is forced to interface the inhumanity of war.
ONE NIGHT …
“One Night...” is a co-production of the Cherry Lane Theatre and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and is directed by Clinton Turner Davis.
The cast of “One Night…” is Grantham Coleman, Bianca LaVerne Jones, K.K. Moggie, Matthew Montelongo, and Cortez Nance Jr.
The scenic design for “One Night…” is by John McDermott; costume design is by Jessica Jahn; lighting design is by Nicole Pearce; sound design is by Sean O’Halloran; video design is by Gil Sperling. The production manager is Eugenia Furneaux; the production stage manager is C. Renee Alexander; the assistant stage manager is Kristin Pfeifer. Production photos by Sandra Coudert.
“One Night…” plays Monday and Tuesday at 7pm, Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, Sunday at 3pm at Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street (three blocks south of Christopher Street, west of Seventh Avenue South). Tickets to “One Night…” may be purchased by visiting www.cherrylanetheatre.org or by phoning Ovationtix at 866-811-4111. Individual tickets are $66, $25 for patrons under 30 years old and theater artists, $20 for military with valid ID, and $20 for students with valid ID. Information for specially priced Rattlestick membership tickets is available by visiting www.rattlestick.org/memberships or by phoning 212-627-2556. For more information about “One Night...,” please visit www.cherrylanetheatre.org. Running time is 90 minutes without an intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, November 21, 2013
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