Haiti trilogy ends in strength

Opulence and squalor. Christianity and tribalism. Grand ideals and endemic corruption. Playwright Levy Lee Simon captures the many dichotomies of Haiti in his epic trilogy “For the Love of Freedom,” a flawed but fascinating history of the struggle for Haitian independence.

Spanning the years from 1806 to 1820, the concluding chapter of the trilogy, rather cumbersomely titled “For the Love of Freedom, Part III: Christophe (The Spirit) Passion and Glory,” charts the rise to power of Henri Christophe and the escalating war between the country’s mulattoes in the South and the freed blacks in the North -- a gory internecine conflict that further demoralized an already battered citizenry.

The first two plays, which concerned the freeing of the slaves from French dominion by the visionary Haitian leader Toussaint L’Ouverture and the rise to power of L’Ouverture’s bloody successor, Jean Jacques Dessalines, were staged at the small-scaled Greenway Court as modified in-the-round productions with playing areas interspersed throughout the audience.

For this production, director Ben Guillory has opted for a more standard proscenium staging at Los Angeles Theatre Center’s spacious downstairs area.

Guillory, who has overseen this massive enterprise since the first production in 2001, once again fills the space with military efficiency in a rich staging full of sound, fury and fitting ferocity. Many in the cast of 30-plus have been with “Freedom” since the beginning, and their commitment is more than evident in these mostly authoritative performances.

Authoritative, also, is the thrilling choreography by Ayana Cahrr and the evocative live percussion by musical director Leon Mobley.

As Christophe, the Haitian president who would be king, Karl Calhoun strikes a subtle balance between unbending rectitude and ruthlessness that leaves us wondering whether Christophe was an unjustly maligned hero or an irredeemable tyrant. There’s that dichotomy again -- and indeed, the irreconcilable and contradictory forces that are so essentially Haitian are Levy’s recurring theme throughout this sweeping undertaking.

All three plays -- well over 10 hours of total running time -- have been eminently entertaining. However, whereas Parts I and II seemed occasionally overstated and factually blurry, Part III is far more dramatically taut, a gripping ending to what is, both singly and in the aggregate, a formidable theatrical achievement.

*

‘For the Love of Freedom, Part III: Christophe (The Spirit) Passion and Glory’

Where: Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles

When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays

Ends: Oct. 31

Price: $25

Contact: (818) 981-4141

Running time: 3 hours