By Jack O’Field
Yolanda Marie Franklin, artistic director of Common Ground Theatre, has mounted a tour de force in “Black Nativity” by Langston Hughes (1901 – 1967), the star of the Harlem Renaissance.
Act I is pure Hughes, while Act II is devoted to a themed sermon by an area preacher. The Dec. 14 performance at 3 p.m. featured the fiery Bishop Bryon Richardson of Extreme Worship Center. who explained “the gift” extolled in the Hughes play, that is, the birth of Jesus.
The tender performances by Mary and Joseph exemplified the utter, complete commitment and sincerity of the whole cast. Franklin drew from them a degree of honesty and forthrightness unusual in today’s theatre.
The soaring voices were icing on the cake. The almost-operatic virtuosity on display made this Christmas pageant majestic right down to the four women dancers, who resembled Picasso’s “Demoiselles d’Avignon.”
Especially wrenching was Mary’s painful pregnancy when the couple had no place to lay their heads. Equally affecting was Joseph’s outraged reaction to the virgin birth concept and his later apology to Mary. Hughes gives this often-overlooked man his due.
Yet, beggary is the story behind every performing arts group in America. Franklin wrapped the performance by pleading for donations to keep Common Ground going, especially since the Educational Cultural Center (ECC) is shutting down for rebuilding over 1.5 years. This linchpin of the neighborhood will be sorely missed after years of non-stop service, but the rebuild will modernize and expand the facility.
We can look forward to more productions from Common Ground Theatre, P.O. Box 152443, San Diego, CA 92195, [email protected]. It is, indeed, San Diego’s premier Black theatre, and a better dollar was never spent.
For full stories and photos only published in print, pick up a paper at a newsstand near you, or check out the latest edition of our newspaper on Thursday each week.
