by John Quinn

Posted: Jan. 18, 2015 at 3:30 p.m.

All drama, says Aristotle, should provoke an emotional response; some emotional responses will have an audience squirming in their collective seats. “Yellowman,” Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith’s powerful one-act, exposes a caste system within the African-American community based on skin color, in which dark-skinned and light-skinned hold each other in mutual contempt bordering on hatred. For Performance Network’s patrons, who are overwhelmingly of European heritage, it’s like being invited to dine with a family who proceeds to air its dirty laundry in public. As uncomfortable as it is to witness secrets revealed and emotions unleashed, the rank smell of our own unwashed sheets begin to intrude, adding to our embarrassment. Perhaps I’ve pushed that particular metaphor too far. Suffice it to say, “Yellowman’s” catharsis is not for the faint-hearted, regardless of ethnicity.

The play is structured in five sections, to be performed by two actors assuming multiple parts. That is always a challenge, one expertly handled here by Casaundra Freeman and Jonathan West, under the – as always – skillful direction of Lynch Travis. It is performed mostly in intertwined monologues, with frequent, deft shifts of voice and gesture to introduce other characters. Played against John Manfredi’s suitably stark scenic design, “Yellowman” is a glowing example of a growing trend this theater season – an elevation of the storyteller and the language that is his or her stock in trade.

Orlandersmith’s most sobering message is that bigotry is not ingrained. In fact, as they sing in “South Pacific,” “You’ve got to be carefully taught.” Internal references set “Yellowman” in Russelville, South Carolina, starting between 1966 and ‘68. Alma and Eugene begin a friendship that will bloom into love, despite the physical differences that society dictates should keep them apart. Alma is heavy-set and dark-skinned; Gene is referred to, in many instances derisively, as “high yellow.” Their affection endures through playground taunts and the soul-killing responses of their parents. Alma takes after her single-parent mother, Odelia, who bullies her child about being black, fat and ugly. Eugene’s parents, dark skinned Robert and fairer Thelma, pull the boy in different directions. Robert is so lost in bigotry he lashes out at his own son. Their bond is threatened, though, when Alma wins a scholarship to Hunter College and leaves for New York City. Gene, on the other hand, has no more ambition than to follow his father in working for the railroad.

Now, Casaundra Freeman is, by anybody’s standard, an attractive woman and Jonathan West is nobody’s idea of a “punk.” But we readily believe in their characters because they believe in them. There’s a bit of magic, then, in Freeman’s hypnotic, poetic description of Alma’s New York transformation. The ugly duckling becomes a swan with no more than a change of shoes. West also impresses in a transformative monologue, but in contrast with Alma’s optimism, Gene’s fate is startling, grim and tragic.

After introducing us to two very likable characters, I’d like to report that Dael Orlandersmith allows them a happily ever after. I can’t. Monday will mark the Federal recognition of Martin Luther King Day. Reflect, then, that August 28, 2015 will mark 52 years since Dr. King proclaimed, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The dream remains a dream. Dramas like “Yellowman” are our wake-up call.

SHOW DETAILS: ‘Yellowman’ by Dael Orlandersmith
Performance Network Theatre
120 E. Huron St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, 29, Feb. 5, 12
8:00 p.m. Friday & Saturday, Jan. 23, 24, 30, 31, Feb. 6, 7, 13, 14
3:00 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, 31, Feb. 7, 14
2:00 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, Feb. 1, 8, 15
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
$25-$41
734-663-0681
www.pntheatre.org