Not all theatrical pleasures need be supersized spectaculars like the Alliance’s mesmerizing “Everybody.” Some shows resonate no less profoundly on a much smaller and more subdued scale, like Georgia Ensemble Theatre’s modest little gem of a production, “Alabama Story.”
Thoughtfully written by Kenneth Jones, the drama takes place (circa 1959) in the still-segregated city of Montgomery, Alabama, based on actual events involving a controversial illustrated children’s book about the marriage of two rabbits, one white and the other black. Its six characters introduce themselves to us in the opening scene, describing from their own individual points of view the story we’re about to see. And it’s a sign of how well-layered it is that, over the course of the play, Jones provides a reasonable texture to back up each of their differing narrative perspectives.
Credit: Casey Gardner Ford
Credit: Casey Gardner Ford
The principal opponents in the ideological debate that ensues surrounding “The Rabbits’ Wedding” are Emily Wheelock Reed (Shannon Eubanks), the free-thinking director of the state’s Public Library Service, and E.W. Higgins (Don Farrell), a conservative state Senator.
While she espouses a literary interest in reflecting “cultures other than one’s own” and “rescuing readers from the shadows of ignorance,” he’s pining for the status quo of “old Alabama” and prone to “rattling his saber” about brainwashing or “mixed-race propaganda.” Tensions between them mount at a budget-committee meeting that quickly devolves into snide insinuations about her marital status and base allegations of misusing tax-financed funds.
Credit: Courtesy of Georgia Ensemble Theatre/Casey Gardner Ford
Credit: Courtesy of Georgia Ensemble Theatre/Casey Gardner Ford
In a parallel plotline, two fictional friends cross paths and reconnect for the first time since an incident from their childhood drove them apart. Joshua (Jontavious Johnson) is Black; Lily (Emily Nedvidek) is white; and the two of them don’t remember that shared traumatic event in quite the same way.
“Alabama Story” marks something of a change of pace for the gifted director Thomas W. Jones II (late of “Square Blues” and “Chicken & Biscuits”), in the sense that his best work traditionally thrives on a more highly physical energy and extroverted spirit. He might not seem an obvious choice for such comparatively calm and introspective material, but he handles it splendidly — largely, that is.
There’s a singularly awkward sequence in the play that’s both poorly constructed (by the playwright Jones) and blocked (by the director Jones). As the librarian and the politician are embroiled in their contentious meeting, the reuniting friends essentially crowd the same area of the stage to relive a flashback to that pivotal moment from their youth. The scene is a confusing mess.
Johnson and Nedvidek, the least experienced members of the cast, and portraying the least defined parts in the story, can be an occasional drag. Most of the others in the ensemble, however, follow the lead of their director by branching out in exciting new ways.
Take the venerable supporting actor Robert Wayne, who for years has been plugging away about town in relatively inconsequential roles. He has rarely registered as strongly or memorably as he does here playing (among smaller bits) Garth Williams, the author and illustrator of “The Rabbits’ Wedding.”
Or Justin Walker, who offers one of his finest performances as Thomas Franklin, Reed’s administrative assistant. He has proven himself a stalwart leading man, tackling everything from Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy to Tennessee Williams’ Stanley Kowalski. But when he delivers an emotional speech about growing up as a sensitive young man in an environment of hateful bigotry, it’s unexpectedly heartfelt.
Although, as usual, Eubanks is slyly effective as Reed, Farrell is a real revelation. Now based out of state (as artistic director of Actors Theatre of Indiana), the Roswell native is a former Georgia Ensemble fixture, known almost exclusively for his work in musicals. He sinks his teeth into the character of Higgins with a genuinely grounded abandon that also manages to skillfully avoid reducing the man to an easy or one-dimensional epitome of racial prejudice.
On various levels, the show turns out to be more than just a story worth telling — it’s one worth hearing, too.
THEATER REVIEW
“Alabama Story”
Through Sept. 25. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays. $32-$49. Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. 770-641-1260. www.get.org.
Bottom line: A disarmingly engaging drama.
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