Steadstyle Chicago
October 2009 Theatre Review by Joe Stead
Ten Square
Imagine if all of the inequities of racism and slavery could be wiped away by having the government apologize and disperse checks to the victims' ancestors. What kind of society would we have? In playwright Shepsu Aakhus' eerie futuristic parable, "Ten Square," it's not the rose-scented utopia you might expect. Aakhu has envisioned a country of divided cities, in this case a South Chicago and North Chicago separated by a guarded wall not unlike the former Berlin and a one hundred yard "kill zone". Two million African Americans, having received their "Reparation" payments from a dutifully chastised American government for past wrongs, now find themselves segregated into a ten square mile of real estate. Anyone attempting to break free of this new age ghetto is quickly executed. And those who stay put see their liberties and freedoms grimly disappear.
This World Premiere collaboration by Pegasus Players and MPAACT is anything but a hopeful or optimistic view of race relations in America. It is dark, cynical and over written, however Shepsu Aaakhus is still a writer who demands to be heard. And even as the first act lacks a driving point, the second act makes amends with some powerful moments and provocative writing. Much of the language, as we are promised from the start, is salty street vernacular, but given the helplessness of the play's central turmoil understandable. It is a frightening prediction of where our country could go with at least a nod to where we have already been.
Chicago has been split into two, the Daley's to the north and the Tillman's to the South. White liberal guilt over the historical wrongs of slavery has been succeeded by naked aggression, and the new world civil rights pioneers fought so hard for is finally here. Yet things don't look any better for the black citizens than before the so-called "Reparations". Who holds the ties to those filthy purse strings, the play asks. "Where did your prosperity go?" Roosevelt asks his mother. "Nothing lasts forever," she answers. Even with black representation in the highest offices of the land hasn't helped bring jobs or better education to the people. "All the really important decisions happen in backrooms, a series of twisted arms in the democratic process" we are told. Our elected leaders are only P.R. men for a pre-sold package of ideas we are sold and generally buy.
Roosevelt (Leonard House) is an Alpha Sniper whose job is to patrol the wall that divides Chicago from North and South. This "Trigga Nigga" is a survivor and the sole provider for his family, which consists of his widowed mother and 21-year-old high school dropout brother. Roosevelt believes that his brother is just plain lazy, not a victim of the system but of himself. "Clyde has failed Clyde," Roosevelt charges, and Clyde is wearing out his welcome in their home. "You kill for a check," Clyde counters. "It's called employment," Roosevelt allows. That employment allows our central character to wear a uniform, carry a rifle and earn enough money to satisfy his own carnal desires with a whore named Talia (the sultry Nambi E. Kelley). "You see so much death it don't even move you," he is scorned. Roosevelt wants to make an honest woman out of Talia, but she defers. "I ain't gonna let you have my soul when all you paid for was some pussy."
We find that Talia's job is to report back to Roosevelt's superior officer, Lt. Truth (a fiercely militant Carla Stilwell), who exercises a frightening degree of command over him. "Truth is what I say it is, and the only choice you've got is what I provide". The aptly named Leviticus (brilliant Andre' Teamer) is a custodian or "soul collector" charged with the grisly duty of disposing the remains of "stupid niggers" who tried to escape the South Side psychosis.
Leviticus is philosophic, recalling the biblical tale where God demanded Abraham make a sacrifice of his only son Isaac. God's love had a price, he says, but what essential damage did that do to the relationship of father and son? Second-in-command Drexel (Eddie Jordan III) believes in a New Testament God of forgiveness and redemption. Leviticus claims the New Testament was just good P.R. for a bloodthirsty creator. Earl Alphonso Fox makes a commanding impression as a character known as Sandman. His appearances in the first act are limited to raking patterns in the sand, the second act revelations deepen the story in surprising ways.
Even though "Ten Square" is a work of fiction, there are kernels of truth in Aakhus' blunt and often poetic words. Drexel yearns to see something not made out of crumble concrete and rust iron. The physical borders that separate north and south in "Ten Square" have always been there in the minds of many African Americans, who see the skyscrapers blossoming out of the Chicago skyline but never venture further north than Roosevelt Road. The irony of that statement was made in a North Side theatre that barely counted five other audience members in attendance at the Sunday matinee I viewed. "Ten Square" may not be the prettiest picture you will see, but it boldly holds its characters responsible for their own lives and destinies. "You ain't nobody's victim," Roosevelt tells his mother, and that is a refreshing point of view. When all the government subsidized stimulus and restitution payments run out, we are all individually on our own. What course will we take?
"Ten Square" plays through November 22, 2009 at Pegasus Players, 1145 W. Wilson Avenue in the O'Rourke Center at Truman College. The play runs 2 hours 35 minutes with intermission. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $17-$25 with discounts for seniors, students and groups. Call (773) 878-9761 or visit www.pegasusplayers.org. For more information on MPAACT, visit www.mpaact.org.
About Joe Stead
Joe
Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has
involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing for
the past twenty-five years. He served as founder, producer and
Artistic Director of Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland
and Four Star Players in Tampa, Florida. Favorite productions
have included "Life With Father," "Deathtrap,"
"The Odd Couple," "The Miracle Worker,"
"Brighton Beach Memoirs," "You're A Good Man, Charlie
Brown" and "Godspell". He has also performed
leading roles in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin,"
"The Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and
most recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for
Waukegan Community Players. Joe holds a degree in Commercial
Art from Tampa Technical Institute. As a critic, he has
reviewed everything from Broadway to community theatre and major
regional theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey,
Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in
Sarasota, Florida.
Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America. He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers. He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene. Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays. His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).