‘Star’ burns brilliantly at playhouse

Tom Titus

Ida B. Wells, the daughter of a slave, was a fiercely dedicated woman

who fought tooth and nail for equality and justice in the racial

arena long before Rosa Parks ever thought of taking the bus ride that

initiated the modern civil rights movement.

Her struggle during the late 19th and early 20th centuries is

detailed brilliantly in “Constant Star,” Tazewell Thompson’s deeply

involving saga with music now enjoying its West Coast premiere at the

Laguna Playhouse.

To chronicle Ida Wells’ contributions to human rights during some

ghastly inhuman times would require an indefatigable actress, since

Wells is the only character in the play. So Thompson -- who also

directs with messianic vigor -- created five roles, dubbed Ida 1

through 5, to detail this compelling story.

The actresses do not, as one might expect, portray Wells at

succeeding chronological levels. Rather, they intermingle, playing

off one another, with each assuming the central assignment

alternately while others play characters, male and female, involved

in Wells’ remarkable life.

The concept confuses at first, but it’s not long until this

laudatory mission comes sharply into focus. The five women -- Nadiyah

S. Dorsey, Quanda Johnson, Tracey Conyer Lee, Laiona Michelle and

Gayle Turner -- not only perform impressively, but lift their voices

in a succession of spirituals that gives their cause an almost

biblical fervor.

Each has a strong, determined presence, but Michelle’s vocalizing,

as well as the passionate zeal of her performance, sets her a cut

above the rest, a difficult achievement in such a powerful ensemble.

All five Idas advance their character’s achievement-packed life

story with enormous dedication and robust ethnic flavor. They recall

“jumping the broom,” the slaves’ marriage ceremony, and enact the

moment Ida falls in love -- and presents her suitor with a laundry

list of conditions, starting with the excising of the word “obey”

from the marriage ceremony.

Garbed in heavy, elaborate costumes, designed by Merrily

Murray-Walsh, the actresses mark the painfully slow progress of human

rights in an era of black lynchings, bringing to light horrific

events most people could hardly imagine. In one poignant scene, four

of the five performers appear with nooses around their necks.

Donald Eastman’s stark workplace setting provides a telling

backdrop for this compelling story of a determined woman who became a

suffragette, newspaper editor, co-founder of the NAACP and the single

most powerful opponent of lynching in America.

“Constant Star” -- the title is taken from a line in Shakespeare’s

“Hamlet” (“I am constant as the evening star”) -- succeeds in

arousing its audience with both appreciation of the current

performance and outrage at the events that inspired it. In that

regard, it is a “conscience play” much like last season’s “The

Laramie Project,” only with music -- arranged and directed by Dianne

Adams McDowell -- to solidify its impact.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Coastline Pilot.