Two stars
Playing on stage at the Den Theatre, you meet an aspiring African American actress, Vera Stark (Ashayla Calvin). She is a personal maid to fading 1930s movie star Gloria Mitchell (Caitlin Jemison), once known as “America’s Little Sweetie-Pie.”
It becomes clear that the two have a very close relationship and have a shared struggle to find success. However, due to race barriers and prejudices it is clearly more difficult for Stark than it is for Mitchell.
Potential roles for Stark and her roommate Lotte (Justice Ford) are limited to stereotypical black slaves, and domestic workers. Each of them is dismayed by this reality but are willing to do whatever they must to get their chance on the silver screen.
Stark’s love interest, Leroy (Bryant Hindsman), is an aspiring musician who encourages Vera to resist the temptation to give into establishment expectations.
Lotte and Vera have a third roommate, Anna Mae (Enama Samuels), who has taken another path entirely by passing herself off as Brazilian. Though her skin is still dark it’s more acceptable in local society as being exotic.
Gloria Mitchell is being considered for a lead role in an antebellum film drama and there is a speaking part for someone to play her maid, Tilley. Stark sees her chance and is determined to grab it.
There is a good amount of humor in the first act derived from Vera and Gloria’s relationship as well as Vera and Lotte’s impromptu auditions as servile slaves for the benefit of the movie’s director.
Though this can be cringe-worthy, it serves as an example of how blacks at the time (and some might argue even now) must adapt themselves to the expectations of people in power in order to advance even to some small degree. So, it is dangerous to try to reconcile the actions of people in the past in order to meet our current expectations.
Vera and Lotte know very well what they are doing but they are determined to work the system to their advantage and they make that clear. In their mind, the joke is on the those falling for their performance. Part of the message in Act One is that many people are masquerading as things they are not in order to find, create or exploit opportunities.
While Act One is reminiscent of a drawing room screwball comedy, Act Two fast forwards about forty years to the 1970s where a panel of cinema experts analyze social changes in film, including the rise of Vera Stark.
The severe difference between the two acts makes this a particularly schizophrenic production to the point of being assaulting. It’s as though after the intermission you have come back to see another entirely different play.
Without giving away any details I will say that I understand the point of Act Two and get what the playwright was after. But in short, Act One was very enjoyable and Act Two was a jumble of ideas that never quite came together. This is a two hour play and Act Two could be cut by half making this a total of 90-minutes and much more palatable.
There are things I really enjoyed about the scenic design of Kevin Hagan in Act Two, such as the use of the movie clip. I am a huge fan of digital theater and using multi-media in live performance. I also enjoyed the use of rear projection for creating scenery in act one. But please fix the arm on the couch. It detracts from the illusion of an affluent apartment in Act One.
I appreciated the use of a kind-of shadow box with translucent scrim to affect the appearence of a TV interview being projected onto a large screen. That was genius.
Ashayla Calvin understands the character of Vera Stark. It is a massive role where she is on stage virtually the whole time and she manages it admirably. Caitin Jemison wears the part of Gloria Mitchell well. Justice Ford as Lotte has the kind of natural delivery that I very much appreciate. Shout out to understudy Enama Samuels as AnnaMae who stepped in at the last minute on the night we attended.
I want to say I loved this play because I feel the actors really put everything they had into it, but Act Two unfortunately drags down the experience. So, I would say if you are a fan of theater who is willing to put up with this production’s imperfections in order to see some interesting technical effects and a really fun first act with a serious message, then it’s worth taking a chance.
Details: The Artistic Home Presents, “By the Way Meet Vera Stark” a play by Lynn Nottage at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL., now through November 17, 2024. Tickets available at thedentheatre.com or by calling (773). Runtime: 2 hours and 10 minutes including one 10-minute intermission.
Reno Lovison
For more shows visit Theatre in Chicago