Theater review: Black Theatre Troupe pulls back the curtain on a Harlem Renaissance giant in Albany

ALBANY — Press materials for the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY mention that Charles Smith’s play “Knock Me a Kiss” is a fictionalized retelling of the brief marriage between Yolande Du Bois, the 26-year-old daughter of the great scholar W.E.B. Du Bois, and the young Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen. But those of us with suspicious minds might wonder how much of what has been dramatized is actually fiction.

W.E.B. Du Bois, a hugely important figure in the sociological history of our nation, was a visionary. Blasting a clarion call for change with his erudite and powerful writings, Du Bois led the charge for the African American fight for civil rights. But Cullen’s poetry and prose covered many subjects and themes, not focusing entirely on racism and injustice. So what was the connection between the two men?

The playwright’s magnifying glass concentrates on the personal and the legacy. Du Bois (powerfully played here by Hayes M. Field II) wants to set his daughter Yolande (the always radiant Angelique Powell) on the right path with the right husband. Yolande has been secretly seeing bandleader Jimmy Lunceford (Hasson Harris Wilcher), who she knows her parents would not approve of — especially her emotionally wounded mom (a wonderfully fragile Jocelyn Khoury). Yolande has known and liked Countee for years, and Countee is nice, affable, handsome and looking for a wife (but for an entirely different reason), so what should Yolande do? Run to Baltimore, Yolande! Take that teaching job!

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Smith riffs well on the melodrama of the tale, creating a strong story structure to his piece. The play’s dialogue rings contemporary without leaving the period — no easy task. But more impressive is how Smith deftly points out the cracks in a hero’s portrait. Du Bois was without question a man to be revered, a man of sacrifice and perseverance. But was it right or moral to blindly demand such things of his family members? What if what is right for the individual does not agree with the morality of the greater good?

Smith’s script is an odd mix of comedy, tragedy and docudrama — dangerous ingredients to combine (think Lifetime movie) — but here there is a fanciful dramaturgical balance that works completely.

This production is a good one, fused with solid, compelling performances from the entire cast and strong, focused direction by Barbara Howard.

Powell can add yet another plaudit in an already long line of impressive local performances. Carefully balancing Yolande’s optimism and hope with the foreboding of what happens to her life, Powell presents an engaging and sad portrayal of a girl who listens to her head and not her heart.

Full of charm and brio, Wilcher is wonderful as the jilted lover Jimmy, and it’s a heartbreaking moment when Yolande makes the wrong choice. Wilcher plays it perfectly, allowing Jimmie’s anger and sadness to land with honesty and the proper anguish.

Morgan Heyward is more than just a tiny bit marvelous as Yolande’s best friend Lenora. Sassy and wise, Heyward nearly steals every scene she’s in. Even when tossing Yolande a look of disdain or an upfront comment, the actress respects the playwright’s careful creation of Lenora, never allowing her to become a cliché.

In less capable hands Countee could be played as a louse and loser, but it is impossible not to like Penn’s take on the man. Suave without smarm and childlike without being cloying, Penn presents a Countee cautiously unabashed and unapologetic for who he is and what he wants out of life. Managing to get the audience to like and understand a character who causes so much pain with his demand for his wants is no easy feat, but Penn succeeds with honors.

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Fields and Khoury are equally fantastic as Yolande’s parents, and each shines especially in the moments with Powell — Fields in a scene where he reveals in frustration an awkward truth that may prove unforgivable, and Khoury in the play’s final moments when we see the damage done by following “the best intentions for the greater good.”

Howard keeps the pace brisk, allowing the humor to happen honestly without pushing. She also skillfully manages to keep the story’s tension at a perfect boil. Unfortunate smudges on the production, however, are the lengthy scene changes, which kill the evening’s momentum and stop the storytelling dead in its tracks.

“Knock Me a Kiss” is an interesting peak behind the curtain of a historical titan. Fact or fiction? You decide.

‘Knock Me a Kiss’

WHERE: theRep, Lauren and Harold Iselin Studio, 251 N. Pearl St., Albany
WHEN: Through Nov. 6
HOW MUCH: $24.07
MORE INFO: www.blacktheatretroupeupstateny.org/season/knockmewithakiss

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