Theater Reviews : Dark Shadows Lurk in ‘Ceremonies’

The bare-bones simplicity of Lonne Elder III’s 1969 “Ceremonies in Dark Old Men” is its strong point. It tells a plain story that presents its message with monolithic power. That’s why it’s a classic of ghetto life.

Harlem’s Parker family is at a turning point. Widower Russell is still maintaining his slim fiction--among others--that his one-chair barbershop is a valid operation. His ne’er-do-well sons, Theopolis and Bobby, don’t even have that. They’re just lazy, adamant only that they don’t want to work for the Man.

Daughter Adele supports them as best she can. Then Theo and Bobby get involved in the bootleg “black lightin’ ” scam and burglary ring run by Blue Haven, self-appointed vice president of the phony Harlem Decolonization Assn., supposedly dedicated to getting the white man out of Harlem.

While the dramatic tensions of the Parker tragedy are sometimes a little ragged in Roosevelt Blankenship Jr.’s production at the Ensemble Theatre, his direction has a true sense of the emptiness and deep shadows of poor Harlem life in the late ‘60s, before crack replaced illegal hooch as a symbol of evil. The emotional desolation Blankenship has created is honest and wrenching and gives the play an even more poignant warning for the ‘90s.

He also has given his actors an aura of naivete that helps to reveal the play’s similarity to Greek tragedy--the will of the gods (in this case society) guiding Elder’s protagonists to their doom in spite of and because of their passion to better their lot.

*

Particularly notable for his sense of the uselessness of it all is Mellow Martin’s Russell. When the bad money starts flowing in, he shouts, “I’m gonna have some fun!” His family and the viewer know better. In Martin’s hands, Russell is kinetic, riddled with foolish optimism, desperate to relive a lost, colorful youth. The ceremonies of the title are his, little games he plays with himself to mask the dark shadows within his heart.

E.J. Gage is a bit subdued as the angry Theo, who brings Blue into their lives, but he ably presents a picture of frustration taking its toll. Michael Harris’ contained Bobby--smooth, bitter and totally unaware of his danger--couldn’t be more subtly drawn. Meta King’s Adele makes a valid transition from indignation to compliance, a difficult path in an underwritten role.

Ray Jones, as Russell’s checker mate Jenkins, is properly staid, with a sharp underlying humor, and Jennifer Ryan’s flashy, too-curious chippy is just the thing Russell would turn to in his emotional desert.

Lee White’s Blue Haven is more than the stereotype of shades, attache case and attitude. He is frightening in his moment of feigned madness, a ploy shaded with just enough humor to make it sting.

While the edges of this staging are soft, there are many moments as hard and sharp as they can be. Martin’s powerful last scene of drunken denial shapes the evening and the point of Elder’s parable.

* “Ceremonies in Dark Old Men,” Ensemble Theatre, 844 E. Lincoln Ave., Suite E, Orange. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends Dec. 17. $10-$15. (714) 998-2670. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes. Mellow Martin: Mr. Russell B. Parker

Ray Jones: Mr. William Jenkins

E.J. Gage: Theopolis Parker

Michael Harris: Bobby Parker

Meta King: Adele Eloise Parker

Lee White: Blue Haven

Jennifer Ryan: Young Girl

An Eastern Boys Company production of Lonne Elder III’s drama. Directed by Roosevelt Blankenship, Jr. Assistant director/technical director: Jim Mongell.