By Brian Scott Lipton . . .
The residents of the small southern cul-de-sac in Aleshea Harris’ brave and bracing new play On Sugarland, now at New York Theatre Workshop, have learned how to bury their dead. But even as they place their loved ones in a makeshift war memorial comprising the personal belongings of those who are now gone, they can’t bury their own pain: the pain of being poor and black in America, the pain of being women in a male-dominated world, and, above all, the pain of survival.
These subjects (and more) are a lot for one play to handle – never mind one that also mixes elements of Greek tragedy and magic realism into its constantly stirred pot. But Harris, director Whitney White (aided by a brilliant design team led by set designer Adam Rigg), and a truly exquisite cast of actors keep this consistently compelling 2 ½-hour play from boiling over into melodrama.
Every action and reaction here feels earned, from the drunken outbursts of the still-grieving Odella (a stunning Adeoia Roie) – whose husband, a war deserter, is not buried on Sugarland – to the comic yet poignant bantering between elderly sisters Evelyn and Tisha (the equally outstanding Stephanie Berry and Lizan Mitchell) to the verbal frustrations of Addis (a moving Caleb Eberhardt), a teenager desperate to join the unnamed war – and desperate for the love of his former babysitter Odella — but whose ability to move forward in life is stifled by his intellectual disability.
Still, two residents seemingly have the greatest burden to bear, The first is Odella’s niece, the silent teen Sadie (the extraordinarily poised Kiki Layne), determined to reach her late mother, Iola Mae, and who shares her rich inner life with the audience in a brilliant series of monologues in which she speaks of the invisibility of women (illustrated by the exploits of her kick-ass great grandmother) and her belief that she can awaken the dead.
The second is Iola’s childhood friend and war companion – and Addis’ father – Saul Greenwood (a magnificent Billy Eugene Jones). Inwardly strong yet outwardly weak, he is now tethered to a relatively useless civilian life due to a constantly bleeding foot, the true cause of which is likely to leave the audience gasping. Whether Saul is “lucky” to still be alive rather than be part of the Sugarland memorial is a question that is never discussed, but ultimately haunts him – as well as the whole play. That the ultimate answer is one we don’t necessarily see coming is just one facet of Harris’ copious gifts.
On Sugarland continues at New York Theatre Workshop (79 East 4th Street) through March 20. For tickets and information, visit www.nytw.org or call (212) 780-9037
Photos: Joan Marcus
Head Photo: Stephanie Berry- Lizan Mitchell- Adeola Role- KiKi Layne- Billy Eugene Jones and Caleb Eberhardt
