STAGE REVIEW : ‘Shakin’ ’ Characters Need More

Shay Youngblood’s “Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery” is a tender and often-touching tale of a young black girl’s coming of age.

But it is also the 32-year-old Youngblood’s first play, and while it carries the promise of a new voice, it creaks with the limitations of a writer not yet fully comfortable with her craft. Youngblood quickly proves that she can sketch memorable characters, but the dozen scenes that make up this play often end before the characters reveal their depths.

Southeast Community Theatre, which is presenting this San Diego premiere through Aug. 30 at the Lyceum Space, performs a vital artistic role in the city’s theatrical community by presenting the work of African-American playwrights and featuring African-American performers. Under the direction of UC San Diego professor Floyd Gaffney, this company presented the work of August Wilson before he won his two Pulitzer Prizes. Now Gaffney is showcasing the work of Youngblood, who has already written a screenplay based on this play for Sidney Poitier.

“Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery” tells the story of a girl’s memories of the Mamas who raised her after her mother died. The girl, who is called simply Daughter, returns to the home of the woman she called Big Mama. There, she remembers the summer when Big Mama, Aunt Mae and the other Mamas told her stories about love and loss, racism and hope, preparing her for womanhood.

On opening night, Gaffney’s cast struggled to find the right dynamic between nostalgia and humor. He has infused the tale with an “I Remember Mama” glow, but the liveliest scenes are the ones where the characters bicker. A cat fight at the Mission Prayer Circle Pray Meeting is particularly delicious. A scene on a bus, in which someone’s spitting ends up inflaming racial tensions veers quickly from funny to frightening--and back again.

The real problem here is in the script itself; Youngblood’s memories are simply too rose-colored. She celebrates the strength of Big Mama and her belief in Big Mama’s power to make everything right. But it is the human underside that makes larger-than-life figures truly compelling, and while Youngblood makes a tantalizing allusion to Big Mama’s wild past in one scene, the reference is dropped too quickly.

That’s the main frustration with this work. The characters are memorable enough to leave you wanting more, but the play does not deliver.

Performances are uneven, but newcomer Monique Gaffney--the director’s daughter--brings an alternately innocent and feline grace to Daughter, capturing the essence of transition in a young girl’s coming of age. Candace Ludlow-Trotter exudes regal dignity as Big Mama, offering a rock-like counterpoint to Dochia (Dee) Knox’s bootlegging, sharp-tongued Aunt Mae. And Tracy Hughes, a veteran of the San Diego Repertory Theatre, is beautifully ripe--in figure and voice--as Miss LaMama, the woman who was married to an African until he announced to her that he wanted a second wife.

The musical direction by Kevin Flournoy sets a nice, bluesy mood for the piece. The simple wood set design by John Redman works simply and well--a few props transform it quickly from a fishing pond to a governor’s mansion. Judy Watson’s costumes provide all the color needed; each choice suits each character. Jean Isaacs, artistic director of Isaacs, McCaleb & Dancers, designed the high-spirited dance numbers that suggest mythic undertones to the show’s rite of passage.

“SHAKIN’ THE MESS OUTTA MISERY”

By Shay Youngblood. Director, Floyd Gaffney. Music director, Kevin Flournoy. Choreography, Jean Isaacs. Set design, John Redman. Lighting, Keoni. Costumes, Judy Watson. Technical direction, John R. Monroe IV. Stage manager, Calvin Manson. With Monique Gaffney, Candace Ludlow-Trotter, Dochia (Dee) Knox, Andrea Alvarez, Demetrice Davis, Tracy Hughes, Tammy T. Casey and Tonji Joiner. At 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 7 p.m. Sundays, with Sunday matinees at 2:30 through Aug. 30. Tickets are $12. At the Lyceum Space, 79 Horton Plaza, 235-8025.