Playwright: Rob Penny. At: eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago. Phone: 773-752-3955; $15-$30. Runs through: Jan. 20
Good Black was originally penned by late playwright Rob Penny in the 1970s with the title 'Good Black Don't Crack.' Why eta Creative Arts Foundation felt the need to shorten the title is a mystery, since it's a commonly known phrase in the Black community about a genetic skin predisposition that generally keeps wrinkles at bay.
As a comic drama involving a big age difference between an African-American single mother and her relationship with a younger man, Good Black is quite an appropriate title. This is the third time eta has staged the work ( previous productions were in 1990 and 1996 ) , which now plays as a slightly-too-long period piece allowing you to compare and contrast what has and hasn't changed in 30 years in the African-American community.
Perhaps the most shocking change is the amount of sexual harassment waitress heroine Dalejean ( Regina Whitehead-Mays ) puts up with from her restaurant-owning boss, Jake ( Kenneth Johnson ) . But Penny makes Dalejean an indomitable woman and gives her better trash-talking comebacks than those initially fired by Jake. It all makes for some fun and juicy barbs about sex and sizes of organs, but doesn't completely dull the shock of what some women had to put up before workplace discrimination ordinances made that kind of talk taboo.
It's also interesting to note how the utter devotion to reconnecting with African roots practiced by Dalejean's eldest child James, Jr., ( a strong bass-voiced turn by Brandon Jackson ) is made almost into a running joke. Certainly this historical aspect of African-American culture doesn't deserve the same kinds of giggles doled out to the appearance of 8-track tapes and black-light posters on stage.
What hasn't changed is the ability of mother Dalejean to comfortably talk about sex with her children, particularly defiant middle daughter Phyllis ( Cynthia Chambers ) , who is starting to sneak around with boys in front of young tattletale Janice ( Aaya Samadhi ) . Despite the plot twists with Phyllis disobeying her mother and Dalejean's breakup with her younger man, Rip ( Carter Dorsey ) , everything ends happily and pat in time for Christmas and Kwanzaa. Director Edward D. Richardson does a generally good job overseeing everything, though he could have worked to make the kids' verbal and physical sparring a bit more naturalistic and believable. Now it looks too stagey.
The whole cast also could have worked on their memorization on opening night since a big percentage of lines were flubbed and fixed on the fly. It's hard to fully buy the characters when they're hesitating over what they're saying.
Still, there are some great performances to be seen, particularly Carolyn Nelson as Sister Louise, who hilariously evangelizes and praises Jesus at the drop of hat. Whitehead-Mays is a spitfire, particularly when sparring with Johnson's formidable Jake.
Good Black is fun as a period domestic piece reminding how things once were. It lets you judge what changes have been better and worse.