Roughly Constructed ‘Chest’ Holds Secret

In “The Chest,” an African American woman returns home for the funeral of the grandmother who raised her when her own mother died. While sifting through the mementos in her grandmother’s keepsake chest, the woman is visited by a succession of ghostly female ancestors who talk about their various lives, unveil a painful secret in her own past and inspire her with a new sense of pride and purpose.

As much an outline as a play, Angela de Joseph’s roughly structured drama, now at the Complex, is in many ways a straightforward history lesson. As Dena (Ella Joyce) examines each memento in turn, the woman associated with the artifact comes forward and tells her story, a device through which we are privy to an intimate recapitulation of the black woman’s experience in America, from the Civil War to the present.

Joseph’s story, while excessively sentimental, has a strange purity to it, largely because of the fierce commitment demonstrated by director Denise Dowse and an exuberant cast. This production ultimately transcends its flaws, sneaks up behind you and clobbers you with genuine emotion.

* “The Chest,” Complex Theatre, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends April 14. $20. (213) 466-1767. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.