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Ithaca Journal, review of the Kitchen Theatre's "Yellowman" (the full version ran online, an abbreviated edition was in-print.)

Article published May 1, 2007
Pulitzer-winning ‘Yellowman' delivers emotional intimacy
By Miranda K. Pennington
Special to the Journal

Sweating in the summertime heat of Russellville, S.C., the characters of Dael Orlandersmith's “Yellowman” strive for a sense of self independent of the racial tensions in which they are immersed. The protagonists, Alma and Eugene, ultimately come to realize that though they have benefited from the progress of their generation, they are not exempt from the burdens placed upon them by their environment or stealing up to them from their roots.

“Yellowman,” which opened Saturday at the Kitchen Theatre, covers a span of roughly 12 years and follows the growth of Alma and Eugene as they mature, fall in love and are ultimately separated by tragedy.

It is a pleasure to watch Alma (Lisa Gaye Dixon) and Eugene (Tyrone Mitchell Henderson) grow up together, from the playground adventures of Batman and Catwoman to the heated gazes of smitten adolescence.

The intimacy of the Kitchen Theatre, in a play so full of personal communication, makes the actors seem to speak to the audience almost more often than to one another, an effect that would be diminished if not lost in a larger space.

When not delivering internal musings or narrating the action of the play, the actors portray numerous characters from the surrounding world. Dixon, in addition to the spirited Alma, depicts her Gullah mother Odelia, a bratty neighborhood girl, and a light-skinned black girl she meets in college. Henderson is the shy, eager Eugene, but also his dainty light-skinned mother, his thundering dark-skinned Gullah father, his frail grandfather, a beaming Gullah boy named Alton, and a sly troublemaker named Weiss. At times Dixon and Henderson even play each other, speaking or reacting for their counterparts.

Their versatility is impressive as they transform through gesture and body language, vocal accent and inflection, the nuances of facial expression. Sliding in and out of the musical Gullah/Geechee dialect, Henderson and Dixon make the most of Orlandersmith's poetic storytelling style, lingering on the repetitions and rhythmic speech patterns that give the play such a distinct voice.

The simple clapboard set, designed and lit by Solomon Weisbard, is sparsely decorated but filled by the imaginations of Alma and Eugene, changing from shack to mansion, from New York City street to South Carolina suburb, from backyard to train car and back again.

The production is so seamless that the work of visiting director Sara Lampert Hoover almost feels effortless. The apparent lack of directorial strings or fingerprints on the production as much credits the strength of the play and the actors as it does Hoover.

She has steered her cast into total commitment, filling the small stage with their booming voices, running full-tilt around an imaginary playground or emulating the menacing quality a drunken adult has for a frightened child.

Though plenty of humor is found in the candid expressions of childhood and the rueful recollections of adulthood, the power of “Yellowman” lies in its approach to the heavy consequences of internalized racism. The characters struggle with the acidity of self-loathing as it inevitably projects outward upon those they love, just as it was drawn inward from parents and friends and neighbors. The enforced drive towards lightness and wealth is all around Alma and Eugene, however hard they try to tune out those voices.

For Alma, made to feel like an “ugly, dark thing” by her mother, life is a constant battle to appreciate and embrace personal beauty and strength. Dixon shows Alma's fire as well as her insecurities, the passion and trepidation of a young woman striving to succeed in a world not yet ready for her.

Eugene, shamed and resented by his father for his fair skin, is paralyzed by the expectations of his family, both the positive and negative. Henderson brings a sweet smile, solemn eyes and vulnerable manner to the character, depicting his gradual loss of innocence alongside the build-up of anger and disappointment that the world was not what he hoped it could be.

“Yellowman” is rife with racial epithets, both insidiously casual and threateningly dramatic. The societal wedge attempting to separate Alma and Eugene runs deeper than just shades of skin color, made still worse by the destructive presence of alcoholism threading through both families. As Orlandersmith herself has said, she doesn't absolve anyone for the injustices perpetrated at both ends of the spectrum. They are equally embittered, equally prejudiced, and equally culpable for the divide Alma and Eugene attempt to bridge.

“Yellowman” runs at the Kitchen Theatre through May 13, with performances 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 4 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are available from the Clinton House Box Office by calling (607) 273-4497 or online at kitchentheatre.org.