STAGE : Brooks Taks ‘Paul Robeson’ Beyond Script’s Boundaries

He laughs, cries, sings, dances, preaches, mugs, testifies.

He plays dozens of characters in one night. Avery Brooks does about everything an actor has ever wanted to do in “Paul Robeson,” his star turn at the Westwood Playhouse.

While he does it all very well, Brooks is as remarkable for his stamina as for anything else.

This is a performance that goes on for nearly 2 hours, 45 minutes, and Brooks has done it hundreds of times, including a stint at the Westwood two years ago. But his attention to each moment never lapses. Nor does his big, booming voice.

The vehicle he drives, Phillip Hayes Dean’s script, is nothing to shout about. The tone is largely reverential, seldom introspective, and mostly structured as a succession of dozens of anecdotes.

Because of the limits of the genre, Brooks frequently finds himself forced to awkwardly repeat the comments of the people with whom Robeson is conversing.

Anyone who wants an accurate picture of the real Robeson would be better off reading a biography. Dean used his dramatic license frequently to create more of a show.

For example, one whole sequence has Robeson experiencing epiphanies in Africa and on the voyage back to America, but the real Robeson never traveled in sub-Saharan Africa.

Brooks is masterfully accompanied at the piano, and occasionally in spoken dialogues, by Ernie Scott.

In fact, the dramatic highlight of the evening is the familiar dialogue (it has been used in other plays as well) between Robeson and a congressional interrogator played by Scott. This exchange is so fiery that one wishes the whole play were less of a monodrama.

Still, for the most part Brooks’ showmanship--and the thought that this may indeed inspire someone to read more about the legendary entertainer and activist--justifies the show.

* “Paul Robeson,” Westwood Playhouse, 10886 LeConte Ave., West L.A. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. No performances Feb. 11-13. Ends Feb. 27. $30-$37.50. (310) 208-5454. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes. *

Avery Brooks: Paul Robeson

Ernie Scott: Lawrence Brown

Phillip Hayes Dean’s play, produced by Eric Krebs in association with William Ross. Directed by Harold Scott. Musical direction and arrangements by Ernie Scott. Special arrangements and orchestration by Eva C. Brooks. Lighting by Shirley Prendergast.

Original choreography Dianne McIntyre.