Theater and Film/JAN HERMAN : Black Actors Reaching Out With ‘Eubie!’

In a perfect world, singer Rose Mallett would have been a star by now and Regina Levert wouldn’t have to work for gasoline money.

In a just world, the Orange County Black Actors Theatre would be able to pay a living wage and the cast of “Eubie!”--which begins previews Friday on the Second Stage at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa--wouldn’t have to hold daytime jobs.

But the world is a notoriously imperfect and unjust place. So Mallett, who can belt or caress a song with equal artistry, has to work in an office where music doesn’t count. And Levert, who has just come off a tour with the Grand Ole Opry, is working for gas money because it’s better than not working at all.

In the meantime, artistic director Adleane Hunter is grateful to have them. Judging from one of the “Eubie!” rehearsals over the weekend, they and others in the cast are leagues beyond the level of “closet talent” that Hunter hoped to find in the county when she founded the troupe six years ago.

“Initially, my primary concern was whether there were any black artists around,” she said during a break in the rehearsal. “There are. But most of them move up to Los Angeles, because there’s no work for them down here.

“My main concern now is the audience. I anticipated more support from the black community. I think they don’t think legitimate black theater exists here. They look to L.A. for quality.”

Of course, with the county’s black population estimated to be less than 30,000, she never expected a large black audience. Just a more dedicated one.

On the other hand, Hunter said, “the white audience is very receptive. In fact, we’ve always had a lot of success with the white audience.”

The last time Black Actors Theatre mounted a show at SCR --”For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf”--it was the biggest hit in the troupe’s history. It was also the troupe’s Second Stage debut.

“SCR took a big chance with us,” Hunter said. “They didn’t know whether we’d be quality.”

David Emmes, SCR’s producing artistic director, extended an invitation to the troupe after taking in one of its shows 18 months ago.

“To be honest,” Hunter recalled, “he (Emmes) saw a rather mediocre production, not the best thing we’d done. But he decided we were worth the risk.”

The troupe’s 10-day SCR engagement last summer dovetailed with what Emmes has described as an “expanding commitment” to multicultural theater.

This time out, Hunter had planned to stage “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” a razzle-dazzle Broadway revue of Fats Waller tunes that won the 1978 Tony Award for best musical.

It was a fine plan until January, when she learned that the original cast--including Nell Carter, who also won a Tony--was being reassembled for a national tour.

“They pulled back the rights because the show will be going to the Orange County Performing Arts Center,” Hunter said. “There was nothing we could do about that.”

Thus came “Eubie!” to SCR. Maybe with less razzle-dazzle, but with plenty of razzmatazz. It too appeared on Broadway. It too was a hit. The show’s star, Gregory Hines, was nominated for a Tony. So was the score by legendary composer/pianist Eubie Blake.

Many of the revue’s 22 songs are taken from “Shuffle Along,” Broadway’s first all-black show in 1921, which Blake had written with lyricist Noble Sissle. A mix of blues, Dixieland and ragtime with a touch of gospel, the songs include such vaudeville funk as “I’m Just Wild About Harry,” “My Handyman Ain’t Handy Any More” and “If You’ve Never Been Vamped by a Brownskin, You’ve Never Been Vamped at All.”

Be assured, there won’t be any canned music. Keyboard artist Richard Abraham, who filled out the rehearsal with the romping rhythms of Blake’s piano rags, will bring the authentic sound of a honky-tonk to the show.

“We couldn’t do ‘Eubie!’ without him,” Hunter said. “We wouldn’t, either.”

When the black troupe was begun in 1982, it had a solemn name--the Inter-Cultural Committee for the Performing Arts--and no budget at all. Its first show, a satirical work about racial stereotypes called “Trouble in Mind,” was produced for $3,000.

Today the troupe has a simpler name. Its budget runs to $102,000 for four shows a year. “Eubie!” alone will cost $37,000.

But the operation still runs on a shoestring. Hunter, who is the sole paid staffer, makes $12,500 a year from a two-year grant that is coming to an end. She also maintains the troupe’s office in her Santa Ana home.

“We’ve made great strides,” she reflected. “We’ve had steady growth. We’ve platformed black talent. But if we’re going to continue growing, we have to find a theater of our own.”

Toward that end, Hunter said, the Black Actors Theatre will start a campaign to raise at least $25,000 for “a building fund.” A fund-raiser will be held in December at Chapman College, she said.

Until then, at the very least, the world will remain an imperfect and unjust place. If “Eubie!” sells out--and ticket sales are said to be doing well--the show will just break even.

“Unfortunately,” Hunter said, “the actors won’t make anything except gas money unless we extend a week.”

The Orange County Black Actors Theater production of “Eubie ! “ will be presented at the South Coast Repertory Second Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Previews: Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 and 8 p.m. Tickets: $12. Regular performances begin July 14 and will continue Thursdays through Sundays through July 24. Tickets: 15 and $18. Information: (714) 667-7090 or (714) 957-4033.