Pipe Dreams in the Jim Crow Era

The Last Pair of Earlies – Raven Theatre

Autumn in Chicago this year feels more like Spring, because it’s like a time for rebirth. After 19 long months, deprived of any live performances to enjoy and inspire us, the theatres are finally reopening. Like so many venues, Raven Theatre is also back to producing revivals by well-known playwrights and wonderful new works of art by emerging authors. This world premiere by Chicago playwright Joshua Allen that opens Raven’s new season, sensitively shaped and guided by the extremely talented Wardell Julius Clark, was well worth the wait.

Allen’s drama has a certain quality about it that’s reminiscent of the works of  Tennessee Williams or even Horton Foote. The story is about Della Rose and Wayland Early. It alternates between 1921 Mississippi and the Southside of Chicago, circa 1939. Young Wayland (played with idealistic drive and youthful enthusiasm by Jonny Morrison) and his adolescent, pregnant young wife, Della Rose (a stunningly engaging performance by Demetra Dee), have rosy dreams of a happily-ever-after life together. Wayland has a passion for making shoes that fit better and wear longer than any of the mass-produced footwear ordered from the Montgomery Ward catalog. Inspired by stories from his cousin in Chicago, Wayland convinces Della Rose to hop aboard a train heading to the Windy City, where he hopes to set up his Shoe Palace and make a fortune.

As we see, these romantic ideas are just that—pipe dreams that can’t possibly come true in a repressive era of Jim Crow laws. Where the South hasn’t been particularly kind to the Earlies, living in Chicago isn’t proving much better. Della Rose and Wayland set up housekeeping in a modest, one-room efficiency apartment. Instead of opening his own shoe store, Wayland takes to the road with his handiwork, trying to sell his shoes to prospective customers all over Illinois. Besides being away from Della Rose for weeks at a time, Wayland’s not very financially successful with his trade. So his wife bakes pies and cakes at home and sells them whenever she can, thus bringing in a small income, from which she saves a few dollars to fund her own dream. But Della Rose’s dreams and Wayland’s plans aren’t the same and that’s where the trouble begins.

Director Wardell Julius Clark has used some inventive staging in this play. The story of the younger Earlies, set primarily in rural Mississippi, and then aboard a train heading to Chicago, takes place on the downstage floor level of the set. Scenic Designer Sydney Lynne has placed the older Earlies’ humble Chicago dwelling on an elevated, mezzanine level that overlooks the stage. It symbolizes the Earlies’ castle in the air, while allowing the scenes to overlap and blend together. The platform is bedecked with multiple pairs of shoes to keep us ever mindful of Wayland’s aspirations. From beneath the raised landing other platforms appear and disappear, creating several playing levels for the two actors. Lighting Designer Simean “Sim” Carpenter has hung a variety of colored lights beneath the platform that become ignited at various emotional moments in the script.

The cast is impeccable. Shadana Patterson is excellent as Della Rose Early. She’s been enjoyed in stage appearances, not only at Raven Theatre, but all over Chicagoland. In this role, Ms Patterson will definitely leave her mark as one of the finest actors in Chicago. The range of emotion displayed by this gifted young woman is awesome; she has the audience cheering for her from the very beginning, and right up to her triumphant last scene. No stranger to the Chicago stage, Marcus D. Moore does a fine job in the more difficult, less likable role of Wayland Early. Sometimes, however, Mr. Moore speaks a bit too fast for the audience to catch everything he’s saying. But his smooth ways and passion for achieving his dream are both intoxicating and powerful.

Johnny Morrison is making his Chicago debut in the role of Young Wayland Early. The young actor’s good looks and fresh approach to his role makes his character a likable scoundrel, although we gradually come to see that this character, despite what he says, is only out for himself. Lovely Demetra Dee, an actor with many outstanding credits to her name, is sweet and heartbreaking as Young Della Rose. Her character’s selfless accommodation to follow her husband’s wild dreams results in a tragic sacrifice that brings tears to our eyes. She’s a tragic hero for whom life has been less than kind.

In the more flamboyant, feistier role of Myrna Lee Franklin, Tarina Bradshaw is a delight. She brings humor to this story and provides Della Rose a kindred soul, with whom to gossip, tease and torment, and upon whose shoulder she can cry. Ms Bradshaw is absolutely spectacular in this part. And good-looking Keith Illidge, as neighbor Jimmy Riley, offers both Della Rose and Myrna Lee with a tempting dalliance, if not a specific love interest. He also adds a bit more compassion and comedy to this story.

This is a world premiere and the script could use some editing. Sometimes scenes go on a little too long, after establishing the playwright’s main point. There’s also times when the pacing is too slow. The final scene between Della Rose and Wayland is one instance when less could definitely be more. But this play is an auspicious beginning for Joshua Allen, a talented young Chicago playwright with a flair for both the dramatic, as well as the comic. Hopefully we’ll be seeing much more of his work in the near future.

Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas  

Presented October 27-December 12 by Raven Theatre 6157 N. Clark St., at Granville. 

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 773.338.2177 or by going to www.raventheatre.com.

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