Playwright: Paul Oakley Stovall. At: Goodman Theatre in association with About Face Theatre at the Goodman, 170 N. Dearborn St. Tickets: 312-443-3800; www.goodmantheatre.org; $20-$54. Runs through: Aug. 5
Although Paul Oakley Stovall's play is, technically, a comedy, and its humor based in "situation" (as opposed to "character" comedies), its dramatic scope extends wider than the domestic universe of the archetype and the social-issue overtones of the later post-Norman Lear subgenre. Our play may be premised on a family reunion, its setting a comfortable middle-class home and its ending rooted in reconciliation, but to dismiss its multi-faceted scrutiny as a "sitcom" is to diminish its incisive commentary on changing filial definitions in America today.
Our protagonist is Evy Bryant Jerome, to whom fell the responsibilities of surrogate lady-of-the-house after the untimely death of the family matriarch. The burdens associated with premature assumption of this post have alienated Evy from her brother, Jesse, who turned to girl-next-door Nina for companionship.
Further muddying the genealogical roles was the revelation of a mixed-race half-sister sired by the late Rev. Bryant. On the eve of youngest sibling Tony's hastily-planned wedding, Evy clings to her doctrinaire piety even as its collapse is imminent. Jesse, you see, is gay, as is Nina. Tony's bride is pregnant. Kristian, the wedding photographer is Jesse's lover and partner of two years. Oh, and did I mention that Kristian is Swedish and the Bryant clan is African-American?
This is a lot of conflict to explore in only 100 minutes: Tony can accept his bro' being queer, but not his whiter-than-white paramour, despite stepsister Ronnie reminding him of own biracial parentage. Evy, having embraced her religion's pro-natal imperative, is more appalled at Jesse's alleged neglect of his procreative duties, even as he questions her childless status and its contribution to her own husband's estrangement. Learning that Kristian is a devout churchgoer and devoted father only exacerbates Evy's hostility, until tensions finally explode over what begins as a harmless game of bid-whist.
In its television counterpart, all this would emerge at glacial pace, punctuated by bursts of slapstick, concluding with Evy getting her comeuppance and her antagonists crowing in triumph. Phylicia Rashad is smarter than thatmore important, trusts us to be smarter, too. Under her direction, the action proceeds at a vigorous clip, while nevertheless ascertaining every individual's opportunity to appeal for our sympathy and keeping each small moment of enlightenment within the realm of plausibility.