‘Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry’ Takes an Important but Uneven Look at Racism

Serendipity Theatre Company’s usual stage offerings at the Burbank Little Theatre in George Izay Park are inspired by fairy tales and upbeat and comical classics of children’s literature. Every now and then, however, this game company, a mix of adult and youth actors and staff, takes a chance and digs deeper.

Results vary when Serendipity gets serious, but there’s usually a reason to take a chance--”The Diary of Anne Frank” was a winner for the company, and last season’s version of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” packed a punch.

Serendipity’s newest dramatic offering, “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,” adapted by Ed Shockley from Mildred D. Taylor’s Newbery Medal-winning children’s book, is worth a look too. While decidedly uneven, one transcendent scene, Taylor’s story and some strong performances highlight this drama about a rural black family fighting racism in Depression-era Mississippi.

The Logan family--spirited 10-year-old Cassie (Keeira Lyn Ford); her brothers, serious Stacey and thoughtful Little Man (Marchean Crenshaw and Michael Crenshaw); dedicated schoolteacher Mama (Donna Scarfe); strong and dignified Papa (Fitz Houston); and no-nonsense grandmother Big Ma (Fumi)--draw their strength from one another and their ties to their hard-won land.

That strength sustains them as they are confronted with attempts to humiliate them and threats of brutal violence from bigoted white farmers and others. Josh Wheeler, Scott Ratner and Mike Cartledge have these thankless roles.

(How thankless? “I’m sorry, I can’t like you,” said one mom as she passed Wheeler where he stood waiting with the rest of the cast to greet the audience after a show. “I understand” was his wry reply.)

Taylor’s story, while a celebration of family and never bitter, is not a comfortable one, and director Tony Sanders doesn’t sugarcoat it; there are many racial epithets to be heard, and violence--a lynching, a beating, a burning--are described or staged. While integral to the story, the violence will probably require parents to field children’s questions after the show.

Artistically, though, it’s clear that Sanders wasn’t altogether successful in shaping the play to fit the small theater space. Action scenes suffer from un-dynamic transitions and Sanders relies too heavily on the youth actors to suggest what’s happening through mime and expression. At times, unless audience members have read Taylor’s book, making connections may be confusing.

A notably effective, deepening moment does occur, however. Cassie, who is just old enough to be bewildered and angered by the injustice and unfairness she sees around her, doesn’t understand when Big Ma, in order to protect her, appears meek and powerless before a group of taunting whites. Sanders has stunningly created the claustrophobic oppression of the moment when Cassie is forced to humble herself to a white girl (Annie Preis) for an imagined injury.

A soft subtle chant of “my world, my world” can be heard, underscoring Cassie’s white tormentors’ position of power, while a crowd of black and white observers prod her to apologize, repeating “say it, say it,” words that grow louder and louder, until they’re almost a physical assault.

The anguish Ford expresses, when what she sees as Big Ma’s betrayal breaks her spirit--temporarily--is her best moment too.

Although that is the only time the play rises to that level, the adult actors add substance: Scarfe conveys Mama’s quiet determination to give her students the truth not found in their county-sanctioned textbooks; Fredella Calloway, as another teacher, who’s afraid not to maintain the status quo; and Roscoe Freeman gives a standout performance as Uncle Hammer, a proud, impatient man visiting from up North. Calloway’s haunting vocals, singing the song from which the book takes its title, are an evocative touch, too.

* “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,” Burbank Little Theatre, George Izay Park, 1110 W. Clark Ave., Burbank, Fridays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 1 p.m.; Sundays, 1 and 4 p.m. through Feb. 8. Ages 7 and up. $6 (ages 17 and under) and $12. (818) 557-0505. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Memorial Concert: Charlton Heston will read Ogden Nash’s words to Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals,” accompanied by Grammy-nominated pianist duo Mona and Renee Golabek, at a memorial program for the Golabeks’ mother, the late pianist and teacher Lisa Golabek, at Temple Emanuel Sanctuary on Jan. 24.

The Golabek sisters will also perform Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos and pieces by Chopin, Liszt and Tchaikovsky. Proceeds will go to Temple Emanuel Day School’s newly established Lisa Golabek Roots and Wings Fund, which will be used to support music education for children.

* Temple Emmanuel Sanctuary, 300 Clark St., Beverly Hills, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. $25. (310) 288-3737, ext. 29.