Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – TFANA’s powerful revival of WEDDING BAND brings Alice Childress’s uncompromising views on racism further into the light

• By drediman
• May 11, 2022
• No Comments

Finally, playwright Alice Childress – who passed away in 1994 – has been getting the attention she deserves. This season, New York theater audiences have been exposed to two of her best plays, both classics in my mind. First there was Roundabout Theatre Company’s excellent revival of Trouble in Mind (which just received a handful of Tony nominations, including one for Best Revival), and now we have Theatre for a New Audience’s powerful production of Wedding Band (appropriately subtitled A Love/Hate Story in Black and White), which opened at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center last weekend. Set during the summer of 1918 in Charleston, South Carolina, the play tells the story of Julia and Herman – an interracial couple 10 years running – and the forces which conspire to keep them apart, despite their devotion and genuine love for one another.

I had seen the play only once before at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company way back in 2003, a memory which I still fondly and vividly recall. If anything, TFANA’s welcome revival has made me even more aware of the power of Ms. Childress’s writing. On the surface, Wedding Band may seem a sensationalist drama – and in some ways it is – but it nonetheless has pointed, uncompromising observations on racism, a topic that’s front of mind for the playwright. Indeed, the play probingly explores the extremities of interracial relations, from the intensity of color-blind romantic love to the equal intensity of bigoted hatred. What’s fascinating – and harrowing – to see is how slippery this spectrum really is as we watch the play’s characters existentially grapple with how to feel towards each other.

Awoye Timpo’s staging is notable for its clarity and emotional potency, and it’s enhanced by the evocative simplicity of Jason Ardizzone-West’s scenic design (kudos also to sound designer Rena Anakwe and lighting designer Stacey Derosier for their atmospheric work). For her production, Ms. Timpo has assembled a top flight cast, led by Brittany Bradford as Julia and Thomas Sadoski as Herman. Although there’s palpable chemistry between them, we meet them when restlessness and fatigue has begun to infiltrate their relationship, and it’s quietly heartbreaking to watch. Ms. Bradford gives Julia a rich inner life that’s captivating, and Mr. Sadoski all but disappears into his role. Of the supporting players, the great Veanne Cox as Herman’s venomously racist mother and Elizabeth Van Dyke as Julia’s highfalutin landlady are especially memorable.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

WEDDING BAND
Off-Broadway, Play
Theatre for a New Audience
2 hour, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through May 15