Drama in Stumptown
JITNEY by August Wilson at Portland Playhouse
A cast with more depth and talent than the Seahawks’ defensive line. Stunning. Director G. Valmont Thomas carefully, tenderly shapes the strands of (mostly male) African American pain – and joy. Though it can take a while for Wilson to get where he’s going, when he arrives the payoff is mighty.
Monday night in the Gerding Theater, it was Back Fence PDX.
A big story with time enough to ponder. Wilson writes poetry, and the challenge is to make his monologues work on stage. They mostly do here. Excellent cast. Vin Shambry is a blazing force, hugely talented physically, vocally. Limitations of packing full-size productions into small PP space starting to show.
