Haunting the Shadows

Mlima’s Tale – Griffin Theatre

Premiering two years ago at New York’s famed Off-Broadway venue, the Public Theater, Lynn Nottage’s 90-minute one-act cautionary drama is a departure from her other, better-known plays. Ms. Nottage holds the distinction of being the only female playwright to twice win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her  dramas “Ruined” and “Sweat” earned her this highly-respected accolade, while her other plays, which often focus on the world’s most marginalized individuals, include such titles as “Intimate Apparel,” “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark” and “Crumbs From the Table of Joy.”

In “Mlima’s Tale,” Ms. Nottage tells a stirring, yet heartbreaking story about man’s inhumanity, heartlessly directed both toward Nature and each other. Money and profits rule everything in this world, and that theme is driven home again and again. In the opening scene of this excellently produced, stylized, movement-oriented drama, directed with heart and passion by Jerrell L. Henderson, the titular regal elephant named Mlima is brutally killed by poachers. His massive tusks are rip from his body and are sold, smuggled, carved into artwork and sold to the highest bidder. 

David Goodloe, his face a tortured mask of rage, pain and sorrow, is absolutely stunning in the title role. But, following the slaughter of the fifty-year-old Kenyan pachyderm patriarch, Mr. Goodloe doesn’t simply disappear from the stage. He continues to haunt the shadows of the intimate playing area as the spirit of the great elephant. While each member of this talented, seven-member cast changes their persona, the elephant’s ghost lurks over them, unseen but deeply felt, smearing a streak of white makeup on the face of each new character. It’s a stunning visual metaphor for the blood that’s on the hands of every human being connected with Mlima’s unending chain of death and destruction. 

In addition to the excellent David Goodloe, the ensemble cast includes a powerful, gifted actor named Lewon Johns (who also shares his artistic creativity as the production’s violence and intimacy choreographer), along with the brilliant, versatile Michael Turrentine, both of whom portray a variety of different characters. Ben Chang and Christopher Thomas Pow, a pair of excellent Chicago actors, portray a variety of men, all of whom stand to  profit from Mlima’s illegally procured tusks. Collin McShane and the dryly humorous Sarah Lo play an array of military employees, waitstaff, a custom agent and an art customer, all of whom have more money than heart.

This stunning production by Griffin Theatre is the auspicious Midwest Premiere of Lynn Nottage’s allegorical drama about unconscionable greed. In Jerrell L. Henderson’s impressive and profoundly imaginative production, theatergoers can’t help but be moved by the performances of this brilliant cast and, long after the final curtain, will remain haunted by the piercing eyes of actor David Goodloe, as Mlima.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas    

Presented February 15-March 21 by Griffin Theatre Company at Raven Theatre’s Schwartz Stage, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 773-338-2177 or by going to www.griffintheatre.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.