By Brian Pope
Faith is in the eye of the beholder. It is an abstract concept. It is reliant on context. It is difficult to hold on to when the harsh realities become overwhelming.
The consequences of not having faith can be dire. Believing in only what you can perceive with your brain can leave you aimless. Faith can be your north star on the path of life, even if that means guiding you in the right direction towards an unknown destination.
Faith is at the center of Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company’s world premiere production of Savior Samuel. It is embodied by the play’s titular character, a baby initially born without a name or a father. When the characters accept him into their lives, their circumstances change for the better. When the going gets tough, they abandon him. It takes a true miracle for everyone on stage and in the audience to see the light.
As playwright, PPTCO Artistic and Executive Director Mark Clayton Southers is responsible for the show’s concept. It’s an incredibly intriguing one. An unwieldy and overlong Act II prevents him from sticking the landing, but the degree of difficulty here is refreshingly high. Complex meditations on trauma, identity, destiny, survival, and agency also color this compelling drama set in 1877 rural America.
The only thing that alpha male Benjamin Clayson (Wali Jamal) has faith in is the moonshine he guzzles constantly and peddles to support his family. He tries to drown his deep pain with the booze, but his substance abuse only manages to drown out the voices of his wife Virginia (Cheryl El-Walker) and daughter Essie (Aaliyah Sanders).
Essie is deaf, and her relationship with her parents is further complicated when they find out that she is pregnant. She is not able to communicate to them how or when the baby was conceived, thus forcing them each to jump to grim conclusions.
As director, Monteze Freeland is responsible for the show’s context. Thankfully, he and Mr. Southers did the work of finding a promising young deaf actress to play the role of Essie.
Ms. Sanders is already an expert reactor with an expressiveness that will send chills down your spine. While the staging for the final moment of Act I falls flat (despite being flawless up until this point), she saves it with a powerful release of sheer emotion.
Unfortunately, like most of the women in Savior Samuel, she is only allowed one moment to command the stage. And that moment is typically when she uncharacteristically confronts a man before immediately retreating to her natural demure state. For Ms. El-Walker, that moment comes when she makes a shocking accusation concerning the paternity of Essie’s son. Marsha Mayhak and Susan McGregor-Laine have excellent chemistry as a pair of nuns who take in Samuel at their facility. Their generational conflict creates great tension but causes the second half of the show to drag. Dominique Briggs explodes with frantic and desperate energy as Nell Dobbs when a fateful choice is made without her input, but it’s over before you or she can truly revel in it.
Her husband Reverend Doctor Rory Dobbs (Jonathan Berry) is the main catalyst for the play’s action. When he pays a visit to the Clayson household, Ben is very skeptical. Hearing Rory’s stories of a better life out east (along with the guilt over his alleged wrongdoing) leads him to ask Rory to take the baby to an orphanage. Nellie becomes instantly enamored of the baby and names him against Rory’s wishes. Shortly after holding him, she finds that the leg she suffered a tragic injury to is healed. It becomes clear to everyone that Samuel is the source of their good will. The mystery becomes figuring out what the source of his powers are.
To avoid spoilers, I won’t go in much deeper. I do wish that the script did more figuratively to set the stage for its miraculous finale. Literally, Harlan Penn’s well-decorated unit set is more clever where other thematic allusions are too subtle. Kim Brown’s costumes establish the period well while Dwayne Fulton’s piano-laden, melodramatic score feels more like its out of a cheesy soap opera.
As usual, Mr. Jamal’s work is timeless. He proves that he actually can effectively transition from ferocious to fearful to fulfilled with one arm tied behind his back. Mr. Berry leads with sensitivity in the tango his character dances with faith. In the completely utilitarian role of Dukem, Sam Lothard has a luminous presence playing a small but meaningful arc.
Mr. Southers’ mentor August Wilson was the master of plays with relatively small scope and massive meaning. The post-Civil War setting of Savior Samuel is intimate and does enhance the play’s resonance. Everything inside its world, though, is imperceptible to the heart before the ending knocks you over the head.
A frisbee to the face is never fun, but the game, like some of this production’s excellent elements, is worth the risk.
Savior Samuel plays at the Trust Arts Education Center through March 16th. For tickets and more information, click here.
Brian Pope is a playwright and pop culture obsessive who has been writing for Pittsburgh in the Round since February of 2016. His plays have been produced by his own theatre company, Non-State Actors, as well as Yinz Like Plays?!, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company. He’s also served as dramaturg for City Theatre’s 2018 Young Playwrights Festival and as both stage manager and actor for Alarum Theatre. When he’s not making or reviewing theatre, he’s actively pursuing his other passions, listening to showtunes and watching television.
Categories: Archived Reviews