Sixty percent Water

the ripple, the wave that carried me home

Told both in the “present,” actually in 1992, and the “past,” 1960’s Kansas, Janice plays a dual role. She’s simultaneously  the narrator of her story and the principle character, seamlessly sliding back and forth throughout the memories of her childhood and adolescence. The story Janice tells always revolves around water. She begins by confessing how, to this very day, she keeps a glass of water beside her bed to drink upon waking up in the morning. Janice hates the taste of water but she also realizes that it’s a necessity of life since, as she reminds us, our bodies are sixty percent water. And, as a child and teenager, she remembers how water was always at least sixty percent of her parents’ lives. 

Growing up in fictional Beacon, Kansas there were several public swimming pools. Sadly, however, at that time, schools, parks, soda fountain counters and swimming pools were segregated. African-Americans were only allowed to swim in one public pool, and that facility wasn’t convenient to all Black families, nor was it as sanitary as the other venues. So Helen, Janice’s mother, became friends with one of the caretakers of the more elite White swimming pool. Early every Saturday morning, before the facility was open to the public, she would drive young Janice forty-five minutes to swim in the nicer pool. Her parents, Edwin and Helen, were both activists who, for their entire lives, carried on a long fight for the integration of all the Beacon public pools. Now, in 1992, after a past filled with highs and lows, particularly a couple of painful incidents that Janice has tried to leave behind, she’s been asked to return to her hometown and speak at a ceremony honoring her father.

Jackson Gay directs Christina Anderson’s engrossing one-act with the pace of a rushing stream. As the lights slowly rise, we listen in to a series of answering machine telephone messages. Most of them are calls repeatedly left by a very funny character, simply called Young Chipper Ambitious Black Woman, and that also happens to be an accurate description of Brianna Buckley’s brilliantly portrayed character. The young woman is indeed chipper and persistent. Eventually Janice’s Aunt Gayle calls saying that she’d better return Young Chipper’s calls because Gayle’s getting tired of fending her off at the grocery store. What’s even more fun is that the very accomplished Ms. Buckley plays both characters. Eventually we actually see them appear on stage and, thanks to some superb costuming by Montana Levi Blanco, and some perfect, character-specific hair and wig designs by Cookie Jordan, each of Brianna’s portrayals becomes the comic highlight of this show.

Our first encounter with Janice’s father, Edwin, nicely played with exuberant emotion and high energy by Ronald L. Conner, is as a brash youngster. The kid delights in sneaking into swimming pools that are designated for Whites Only. This ardor will inspire Edwin’s entire life as he continually fights for equality and the rights of his people. Helen, Janice’s beloved mother, and Edwin’s devoted wife, is played with soul, strength and substance by Aneisa Hicks. Helen’s tenderness and tenacity make her a realistic character. She’s grounded throughout the play, a quiet, but powerful, presence, even under the most horrifying situations. Aneisa is solid in her portrayal, and funny later on, when we revisit her and Gayle as senior citizens at the end of the play.

As Janice, accomplished Chicago actress Christiana Clark is simply wonderful. Her work has been enjoyed at the Goodman in such diverse productions as “The Notebooks of Leonardo DeVinci” and “The Winter’s Tale.” Here, she’s the beating heart of the story, with the bulk of the dialogue. Janice’s enduring memories of her loving family growing up in Kansas are what make this bittersweet story so extra special. Ms. Clark gently takes her audience’s hand, as she guides us back through the joys, sorrows and frustrations that the playwright has woven into this hour and forty-five minute memoir.

Christiana Anderson has seasoned her memory play with humorous, heartfelt moments, honest, multilayered characters and unforgettable phrases and wording. The final scene, set within Todd Rosenthal’s beautifully versatile setting, is a radiant celebration of love and forgiveness. It ebbs and flows and sprinkles and splashes with joy and abandon, light and water. The audience rejoices with these characters, as we watch two generations of African-American women jubilant in the water of the newly-named swimming pool—a public facility that honors Janice’s father and his hard-fought battle for equality and inclusion in the Heartland.    

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented January 13-February 12 by the Goodman Theatre in the Owen Theatre venue, 170 N. Dearborn, Chicago. 

Tickets are available in person at the Goodman box office, by calling 312.443.3800, or by going to www.GoodmanTheatre.org.

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