Playhouse’s ‘Museum’ is hard-hitting satire

By Eric McCrea

entertainment@vindy.com

Youngstown

The best satire will act as a mirror to show an audience the strengths and flaws within themselves – the things we accept as part of the social norm and rarely consider beyond the surface.

George C. Wolfe’s “The Colored Museum” is a hard-hitting satire, and the Youngstown Playhouse pulls no punches. While comedy is naturally interwoven, most of the laugh lines feel tragic, seeping with the quiet rage black culture has endured for hundreds of years.

The play is formatted like a series of sketches, or in this case, “exhibits.” It began with Miss Pat, played by Shba Cochrane, a flight attendant aboard a Savannah-bound slave ship, who informs passengers of the reality they face, and the future their descendants will inherit. The audience reacted with gasps and nervous laughs as the tone for the evening was set.

From there, the exhibits move on to an array of macro and micro issues, including white-washed media, veterans, gay and trans life, idealism vs. maturity, and the expectations of womanhood.

With only four actors playing various roles, the cast is able to show the depth of its talent.

Jacinda Madison appears in two scenes. As Aunt Ethel, she delights the audience with her amazing voice, singing about cooking, while highlighting the racism of food icons such as Aunt Jemima or Uncle Ben. The scene also touches on the song-and-dance expectations of early black entertainers; a theme that is revisited in Madison’s other scene, “The Last Mama-On-The-Couch Play.” In the only scene to utilize the entire cast, we see overacting mocking the drama “Raisin in the Sun,” and there’s a sense that privately mourning injustices is applauded more than the outright battle against the status quo.

Young stage phenom James Major Burns, who appears in only four scenes, shows great skill at character acting, playing an uptight narrator, a sassy waitress, a wig, and a young idealist. He’s able to hold his own in scenes with his more experienced cast mates and doesn’t seem at all intimidated.

Timothy R. Thomas features prominently in six exhibits. In “Soldier With a Secret” he impresses by showing madness, angst and misguided sympathy, seemingly all at once. He does not fear silence, instead taking every moment he needs to stay true to his character. He vanishes into his roles, crossing gender barriers with ease.

Cochrane begins the show with tension and ends it with hope. Between those moments, she also taps in to the most primal emotions we share as a society.

Her powerful portrayal of Normal Jean Reynolds unites with audience through parenthood, with a twist. She also proves she can handle comedy in “The Photo Session” and “The Hairpiece.”

Director Pat Foltz was blessed with this cast, and she did not shy away from the strong impact of “The Colored Museum.” In fact, her use of mixed-media throughout the show intensifies each scene.

“The Colored Museum” runs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Oct. 23 and 24 and at 2:30 p.m. today and Oct. 25. For reservations, call The Youngstown Playhouse at 330-788-8739.