BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller

Dateline: February 20, 2004

DROWNING CROW

THE SEAGULL has landed at Manhattan Theatre Club's new Broadway nest, the Biltmore Theatre. Anton Chekhov's lofty bird--beautifully plumed at the Delacorte Theatre in the summer of 2002 with Meryl Streep leading an all-star flock--migrates to the Gullah Islands of South Carolina in Regina's Taylor's DROWNING CROW, directed by Marion McClinton

Starring Alfre Woodard as the successful actress Josephine Nicholas Ark Trip (read Arkadina), and Anthony Mackie as her troubled son Constantine Trip a.k.a. C-trip (read Constantin), DROWNING CROW is an updated, African-Americanized adaptation of Chekhov's noble play. Following a fateful conflict between mother and son, Taylor shuttles us into a 21st Century setting with numerous references to contemporary Black culture and artists, ranging from Halle Berry to "A Raisin in the Sun.".

While hip-hop sounds and multi-media technology gives the play a modern tilt, Taylor sticks to the original source insofar as character and plot are concerned. Like Arkadina, Josephine is the dominating matriarch of the manse. And, when the grandiose actress dismisses her son's efforts as a playwright, like Chekhov's Constantin, the fragile C-Trip feels crushed by his mother's disapproval.

Trigor (Peter Francis James), Josephine's lover, adds to his malaise. He is an established writer whom C-Trip feels has sold out by working for UPN television. To make matters worse, Trigor eventually takes up with the woman C-Trip loves, Hannah (Aunjanue Ellis). Swept up in her own dream to become an actress, Hannah ends up a broken woman, condemned to perform--horrors of horrors--in a touring company of RENT.

After her affections toward C-Trip go unrequited, the drug-addled Mary Bow (Tracie Thom) finds herself unhappily married to the over-bearing, overly-accommodating Simon (Curtis McClarin). Meanwhile, Mary's parents, Sammy and Paula Andrea Bow (Stephen McKinley Henderson and Stephanie Berry), have their own marital issue: Mrs. Bows is stepping out with the local doctor, Eugene Dawn (Roger Robinson).

DROWNING CROW offers a layered plot and a host of complex characters, yet the brilliance of Chekhov's drama dims along the way. With a thirteen member cast, this modernized version of the story seems crowded and too many of the character's plights seem woefully abbreviated. Also, Taylor does not edify her audience as to the unique and complex history the Gullah Islands hold in the Black American experience.

Performances among the large cast vary with stand-out performances by Tracie Thom as the embittered Mary Bow and Peter Francis James as the subtly unprincipled Trigor. And, Stephen McKinley Henderson, remembered for his appearance in the revival of August Wilson's MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, (also directed by McClinton), proves once again to be a treasured featured player.

David Gallo's set designs burst with vivid imagery. Lighting designs by Ken Billington fire up the atmosphere and costumes by Paul Tazewell fully express the contemporary feel. Choreography by Ken Roberson moves with an urban sway and video designs by Wendall H. Harrington pump up the visual beat. DROWNING CROW, an old bird with new feathers.