I had the pleasure of the company of my friend of twenty years, actor Bruce Ladd, opening night of Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) at The Mark Taper Forum. There is great fellowship in sharing live theater, which by its very nature cannot occur the same way twice no matter how many times it is performed. Though itself a tremendous art form, film does not fill a theater house with the rarified air that wafts through the space between the live actors on stage and the live audience members in their seats, all breathing life into stories of the human condition.
For two hours and fifty glorious minutes, slivers and shreds and hunks of the human condition are laid bare on the Taper stage as ten actors and a helluva musician-narrator (Steven Bargonetti), tell the story of a slave named Hero (Sterling K. Brown), his woman, Penny (Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris), the Boss Master Colonel (Michael McKean), one-footed Homer (Larry Powell), Hero’s faithful dog (Patrena Murray), Union Soldier Smith (Josh Wingate), The Oldest Old Man (Roger Robinson), and the Runaways/plantation slaves (Russell G. Jones, Julian Rozzell Jr., Tonye Patano).
And although racism is an inherently principle character in any story about black slaves and a white master in the heart of the American Civil War, Playwright Suzan-Lori-Parks allows it to flow along in the wider river she has drawn. Parks uses both song and heightened language lightly peppered with a sort of beat poetry in a convention of style she seems to have made up from scratch. You just have to see it. Remarkable.
In addition to the racist history of the American South, Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 &3) explores themes of bondage (both external and internal) fidelity, betrayal, love, worth, shame, and the rumbling heart that yearns for the ever pressing, universal life giving force that is freedom. Freedom withheld, rejected, given, taken, fought for, died for, but always the same: freedom. According to Parks, parts one, two, and three are just the start of an epic story intended to be, at the minimum, nine parts before she is through. This first installment could easily withstand the editing knife, if necessary, to bring Parks’ ambitious vision to full fruition in nine parts. It is easy enough to compare Parks to August Wilson, however this is her own artistic journey, perhaps informed by Wilson, but uniquely hers alone.
It would be unthinkable to leave out mention of a single one of this solid ensemble. Brave Brown and fearless McKean are magnificent as they play the symbiosis of the Colonel and his slave, showing the light and shadow of man. Penny’s torment of love and fidelity seem to blast out of Lugmaan-Harris as if propelled by rocket fuel. Parks wrote into Homer all the good stuff of a man and Larry Powell brings that goodness every time he steps onstage – what a beautiful performance. Roger Robinson plays dignity without stereotype as the Oldest Old Man; Patrena Murray owns the stage in a master-class of timing as the Dog Odyssey; Josh Wingate is simple, clever, and dear; and Russell G. Jones, Rozzell Jr., and Tonye Patano are tuned to one another and always in sync as the Greek Chorus, which bookends the play. Jo Bonney’s pointed direction works well under Lap Chi Chu’s nuanced lighting design, and against Neil Patel’s minimalist scenic design, the crown of which is the road across the length of the stage. Tip of the hat to Musical Director/Arranger/Musician Steven Bargonetti for weaving the tale together with his honest blues voice and magic plucking fingers. His singing is worth the price of admission alone.
In her conversation with journalist Marcos Nájera, playwright Parks says this is not a retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey, but allows that the epic poem is “in our drinking water, so, you get bits and pieces and shards…” of it. Indeed, from his name to his journey, her Hero walks a familiar literary path.
Do not later kick yourself for having missed this epic piece, which is bound to take its place in the canon of great American plays; and circle back to the beginning of this review for the encouragement to work live theater into your life. Between this powerful drama, and the hilarious romp of a musical at the Ahmanson, A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder, the Center Theater Group is busting out all over.
The West Coast premiere of Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) run through May 15th, 2016
Photo cred: https://www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/mark-taper-forum/2016/father-comes-home-from-the-wars/