‘Jitney’s’ Deep Journey

Why do critics emphasize the negative as a display of their erudition? The opening paragraphs of Michael Phillips’ review of August Wilson’s “Jitney” at the Mark Taper Forum was so off-putting I was quite annoyed (“A ‘Jitney’ Ride Through Life,” Feb. 4).

I found the story engrossing, the acting excellent, the production outstanding. The story flowed organically. One cared about the characters. There was suspense in its resolution. Sets and lighting were superb, and at the end the audience stood and cheered.

If Phillips had just reversed the order of his paragraphs, his review would have been more in line with the audience’s response.

ROSEMARIE BALSAM

Los Angeles

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Although I agreed with much of Phillips’ critique, I think his first paragraph was extremely misleading and inappropriate. “Jitney” is a very powerful play, and it is disappointing that Phillips chose to emphasize such a negative tone.

This is not a play to be taken lightly, but one that requires thought long after we’ve left the theater, because it is there, in the recesses of our mind, that we can start understanding the human condition in its undulating patterns and appearances. If August Wilson’s intent with his playwriting is to provoke and challenge a complacent society to check and monitor its deep-seated belief systems with an acceptance of and compassion for all the things it is and is not, he has made a magnificent attempt with “Jitney.”

BARBARA DeMICHELS

Los Angeles