Playwright: adapted by David Schwimmer and Joy Gregory from the book by Studs Terkel
At: Lookingglass Theatre at Water Tower WaterWorks, 821 N. Michigan Ave,
Phone: (312) 337-0665; $30-$50
Runs through: Aug. 10
David Schwimmer and Joy Gregory's adaptation for Lookingglass Theatre of these interviews collected by legendary Chicago
personality Studs Terkel should not be confused with Jamie Pachino's 1994 adaptation of the same for the Strawdog Theatre
Company While this earlier attempt to translate the documented testimonies to the stage adhered closely to its episodic structure,
Schwimmer and Gregory strive for a more integrated approach to their material, weaving segments together to create a verbal
montage, or grouping them under one scenario: the witty 'Hispanic Hierarchy' lecture exploring intracultural prejudice, for example,
or the inevitable game show, 'Name That Stereotype,' featuring a buffoonish Uncle Tom, an obsequious Butterfly, and a white-trash
Lulabelle (portrayed fearlessly by the trio of Cedric Young, Cheryl Hamada and Corryn Cummins).
The scenes that haunt us afterward, however, are the lengthier ones allowing time for characters to develop—like the saga of how
a Black female civil-rights activist and a white male KKK marshal (played with dignity and compassion by Cheryl Lynn Bruce and
Tony Fitzpatrick) find common ground and mutual respect in service of their communities. There are also the vivid visual images that
are Lookingglass' stock-in-trade, as when Emmett Till's mutilated remains are represented by a dripping coat fished out of a swamp.
As is also customary with Lookingglass, the players' own experiences provide reports on racial reflections in the years since the
publication of Terkel's book: the anomaly of affluent suburban white teenagers who mimic the hip-hoppers ('buying my culture at the
Gap' scoffs an unimpressed African-American damsel) and the selective seating habits of CTA passengers. 'This is a purple line train
going to Howard,' announces the automatic speaker, 'All Black people should be off by now.'
The company assembled for this noteworthy occasion is uniformly excellent. And the black-box auditorium built into the landmark
Water Tower blends historical reverence and state-of-art theatrical technology. But of more enduring value in this inaugural show is
its indictment of poverty and disenfranchisement as the breeding ground of racism, along with its message of hope for a better future.