[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of A Noise Within’s production of August Wilson’s King Hedley II, directed by Gregg T. Daniel, running through April 28.
A Noise Within’s reputation for excellence is well deserved.
Every play I have had the pleasure to see in the last few years has been absolutely brilliant and this, their latest exploration into August Wilson’s cannon, is no exception. From the very start, I knew it would be something special though. The set itself, where the backyard of Hedley’s mother Ruby’s house towers over the stage, is a brilliant artful depiction of the story hub. It contains all the space required for these disparate characters to play out their roles in the ninth story of August Wilson’s 10-part series of plays, The Pitsburg Cycle.
King Hedley has recently been released from prison after spending seven years convicted of murdering the man who sliced his face with a razor giving him an awful scar. But now he is determined to make a life for himself and his wife Tonya who is pregnant. He and his long-time friend Mister have found jobs selling refrigerators, probably stolen, and are saving enough money to open a video store…it’s the 80s and his hopes are high.
His aunt recently died whose house he lived in and who, for all intents and purposes, was his mother. But now his real mother is back to claim the house as her own and to mend what she can of their relationship. Things are progressing slowly between them and she disapproves of his endeavours. When her old boyfriend comes around, looking for an easy life it seems, tempers fly and stresses are pushed to the limits. Observing all of this is the neighbor Stool Pigeon. A sage-like religious man who spouts bible verses and buries a dead cat in Hedley’s struggling garden in hopes of reviving it and the cat’s owner, who has also recently died at a purported 300 years old.
It’s a complicated life they all lead, made more so by Tonya’s yearning for something real and tangible. A life not so tremulous, not always hanging by a thread, worried about bringing a life into a world that values it so cheaply. But Hedley is only doing all he knows to do. Stealing and fencing and gathering dollars to go straight…as if that were ever really an option for him. It’s a classical tale. A tragedy of Greek proportions and, as we witness the spiraling of Hedley’s destiny, it feels more like the whole world’s future is already written, no matter how hard we struggle to resist it. What comes to pass must always be.
What a gorgeous production though of this beautifully written play. With characters so richly drawn, I still can’t shake them and monologues an actor must dream to speak.
Ben Cain and Veralyn Jones. Photo by Craig Schwartz.
Viola Davis won a Tony for her portrayal of Tonya on Broadway and the role of this tough, smart, tender woman is a gift for any actress and Kacie Rogers plays her as sublimely as is possible to do. Wonderful. But then every actor in this production is intensely good. Perfectly cast, they take up every inch of space, reflecting off each other believing each other and so we cannot help but believe them. Sometimes you see a cast working together and it seems effortless and still effortful.
This group of gifted and astonishing actors sweat on stage, they work hard at being subtle, deft and real. So hard we don’t notice it. So utterly in the moment that we are transported with them to this place. It’s magical and I can only imagine how incredible the preparation for this play was with their fine director Gregg T. Daniel at the helm.
If you want to give yourself the gift of the kind of theatre experience you won’t soon forget then buy your tickets now for King Hedley II at A Noise Within. It was absolute perfection and holds on to me still…Bravo!!
Tickets:
When:
April 6-April 28
Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Where:
A Noise Within
3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena
The Cast
Aaron Jennings, recipient of an NAACP best ensemble award for his role in Elmina’s Kitchen at Lower Depth Theatre, takes on the title role of the proud and ambitious King. Veralyn Jones (Louise in A Noise Within’s Seven Guitars, Aunt Ester in Gem of the Ocean) portrays King’s mother, Ruby, a former big band singer; Kacie Rogers (last fall’s The Bluest Eye) plays his wife, Tonya; and Evan Lewis Smith (Citizen Barlow in Gem of the Ocean) is his best friend and sometimes business partner, Mister. Ben Cain (Walter Lee Younger in A Noise Within’s A Raisin in the Sun) and Gerald C. Rivers (best known for his work at Theatricum Botanicum) round out the cast as, respectively, Ruby’s longtime flame Elmore and neighborhood truthsayer Stool Pigeon.
The Team
The creative team includes scenic designer Efren Delgadillo Jr; lighting designer Brandon Baruch; sound designer Jeff Gardner; costume designer Mylette Nora; wig and makeup designer Shelia Dorn; properties designer Stephen Taylor; and dramaturg Dr. Miranda Johnson–Haddad. The production stage manager is Taylor Anne Cullen, with Arielle Hightower assisting. The producing sponsors are Dick and Sally Roberts.