Filled With Mystery and Amour

Last Night and the Night Before

In the shadowy opening scene of Donnetta Lavinia Grays’ drama about a family, the silhouette of a man can be seen digging a large hole. We hear his heavy breathing and the scraping of his shovel before he finally dumps a burlap-wrapped body into what appears to be a makeshift grave. Then the lights change, the grave disappears and we discover Monique, a pretty, young African-American woman, with her young daughter, Sam, in tow. She’s knocking on the door of an upscale Brooklyn brownstone. In a tale that flip-flops between rural Georgia and urban New York, and the present and the past, the relationships between family members, both biological and chosen, are tested.

For reasons unknown, Monique has fled from her husband Reggie and her Georgia home to seek temporary refuge with her sister, Rachel. The play piles unexplained mysteries and events on top of each other until, like Rachel and her partner Nadima, theatergoers are filled with more questions than answers. From the start, there’s tension between Rachel and Monique, and especially between Nadima and her partner’s sister. But reminded of the difficult childhood they shared, Rachel softens as guilt and love overtake her emotions, especially for her young niece. Partly because she was unaccepted for being gay, and then attended college out-of-state to earn her teaching certificate, Rachel escaped her suffocating home life. Monique, an aspiring poet, wasn’t so lucky.

But just as it seems clear that Monique must finally confront Reggie for some unknown situation, the woman suddenly disappears. Leaving Rachel’s house by herself, another mystery materializes. Where did she go? What are Rachel and Nadima supposed to do with young Sam? Then, when Reggie unexpectedly shows up at their door, what’s about to happen? Does he know Monique’s whereabouts? Can he find her and reunite the family again? What is going on?

There’s just so many unanswered questions in this play, but one thing that’s not a mystery is this the quality of this production. The cast is remarkably talented and moving. Sydney Charles is, as always, brilliant, complex, layered and the true beating heart of the play. She subtly transforms from a woman deep in a loving gay relationship to someone suddenly discovering her maternal side, as she takes care of Sam. Ayanna Bria Bakari makes her Steppenwolf debut as Monique. She portrays and enthusiastic and talented young woman who loves both her husband and child. Sadly, it’s revealed, Monique is addicted to drugs and is secretly mixed up in crime. At times, however, this actress’ overly-excited line delivery makes what she’s saying unintelligible. Jessica Dean Turner, seen recently in Goodman’s “the ripple, the wave that carried me home,” is once again strong and commanding as Nadima, Rachel’s lesbian life partner. The talented Namir Smallwood, who dazzled in the theatre’s production of “Bug,” flawlessly plays Reggie, a young man who demonstrates over and over that he’s a loving, devoted husband and father. His scenes with both Ms. Bakari and, on opening night, Kylah Renee Jones, as Sam, are honest, sincere and sweet. The role of Sam is shared with Aliyana Nicole, at alternate performances.

The title of the play comes from one of the hand games that Reggie plays with his little girl. When Sam comes to stay in New York, she plays these percussive clapping games with her Aunt Rachel or alone, giving herself a bit of familiar comfort as she evokes the chanting poems of her youth. “Not last night but the night before, 24 robbers came a-knocking at my door,” goes one of the rhymes. Instantly and emotionally Sam is back with her daddy, safe at home in the memories of her Georgia family.

Valerie Curtis-Newton knows this script very well. She guided the original Colorado play-reading as well as its first fully-staged performances. In an excellent production at Steppenwolf, she directs this Chicago premiere of Donnetta Lavinia Grays’ play with authority and care. Staged upon Regina Garcia’s superbly detailed scenic design, that depicts, at once, both the rural and urban settings, and exquisitely lit by Mary Louise Geiger, with sound by Larry Fowler, this is another polished production by this much-respected company. Peppered with moments of much appreciated humor, the play, which is filled with mystery and amour, will touch audiences with its tenderness.

Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas       

Presented April 6-May 14 by Steppenwolf Theatre Company in the Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the theater box office, by calling 312-335-1650 or by going to www.steppenwolf.org.

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