BWW Reviews: WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS at The Ensemble

When a play weaves in watershed moments in American history, there's sure to be connectivity and enlightenment. Before Obama and the Change movement, there was Maynard Jackson. Jackson was the first black mayor of Atlanta. He would go on to serve three terms, during which he made huge strides in improving race relations and development in the city. Pearl Cleage's play WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS serves up a history lesson, a powerful story, and a witty cast of characters. Cleage is an Atlanta-based writer with an impressive literary imprint. She is a best-selling author with Oprah Winfrey book club accolades. There is no denying her literary significance to the world. Cleage is not only a novelist, but a playwright of great works such as FLYIN' WEST, A SONG FOR CORETTA and WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS. I had the esteemed honor to see Houston's Ensemble Theatre's Regional Premier and I have to say, I am glad that I was in the building.

The play starts the night before the mayoral election in Atlanta. Prominent Atlanta attorney JP Madison (Mirron Willis) gathers his team for a celebration. Ann Madison (Yunina Barbour-Payne) is JP's young and naive wife, Lena Jefferson (Cynthia Brown-Garcia) plays the spunky and ambitious campaign worker, John Nelson (Kendrick Brown) is the up-and-coming attorney, Eve Madison (Detria Ward) is the bohemian space cake-eating, afro-wearing liberated ex-wife of JP. Jackson's win propels the story and becomes the catalyst for change amongst these characters. JP is on the short list to become City Attorney, but has a few marital shenanigans to straighten out first.

JP and Ann make a quick exit while John and Lena clean up. Ann has misplaced her scarf and comes back to find it, and kisses John. Lena catches them and tries to tell John, who has fallen madly in love with Ann, that his intentions are wrong. Fresh from Paris, Eve makes a grand entrance and we soon find out that she wants to buy a house in Buckhead. Shortly thereafter, all hell breaks loose. JP and Ann's "marriage in Las Vegas' was a lie, and JP knows transparency is important when vying for a prestigious position with such a high level of accountability. He rushes to arrange a wedding at his old home. Since Eve is a newly-ordained minister, she offers to conduct the ceremony. JP's scene with Eve explores the true relationship that was, that could have been, and that still might be. He still loves Eve and is confused on how to proceed with Ann.

Eve, an astute Svengali, uses the opportunity to throw Ann an impromptu bachelorette party. After pot brownies and adventure stories, we learn that Eve found her true self in Paris. Ann and Lena were enamored of the story and now they want to find themselves, too. When Eve lets slip that she no longer needs her return ticket to Paris, Ann abandons her plans to marry JP for the City of Light. On the day of the wedding, JP comes to realize that he wants a life with Eve, and has to break the news to Ann. Desperate to find Ann, John bursts onto the scene to vigorously profess his love for her, but she is nowhere to be found. At last, Ann enters dressed in full bohemian attire and new-found confidence, and announces that she wants to go to Paris. The play ends with JP and Eve back together and Ann on a journey of self-discovery.

Aesthetically, this play was beautiful, from the design of the house to some of the costumes. Lena's costumes were questionable, but Eve made up for them with every fabulous entrance. The coral Emilio Pucci-inspired ensemble looked like it was ripped from the pages of Italian Vogue circa 1972. The suits worn by the men were well-tailored and looked great. A show with five characters can be difficult to cast. All actors have to have chemistry and play well off of one another. Detria Ward's Eve was spot on! From her eloquent diction to the panache in her movement, she brilliantly captured this character's back story. The character was layered like an onion. From her Buddhist chants off stage to her simplicity just sitting on the couch, this character has experienced life, and I was emotionally invested in her from her first entrance. Mirron Willis also gave a standout performance. He was vocally and physically present on stage. From the nervous twitch of his fingertips to the agitated tap of his heel, I loved every minute of his performance.

Cynthia Brown-Garcia's Lena had her moments but was nothing to call home about. Watching her eat space cakes with Eve was the "be all end all" here for me. Those who have ever indulged in herbal treatment know that the euphoria takes a while to set in owing to the need to digest it. She took two small, and I mean small, bites and all of a sudden, she was feeling the texture of the carpet. I wasn't completely disappointed with this character, but it was a lukewarm performance.

As a proponent of good acting, I have to say that Kendrick Brown dropped the ball. There was no depth to his portrayal of John Nelson. His stage voice and stature came off as adolescent next to Mirron Willis, making him seem too childlike. Maybe this was a directorial choice, but it didn't work auditorily or visually. He played emotion rather than felt it, and came off as Johnny One-Note in his acting style. It wasn't until his final scene when he ran on stage to stop the marriage that he showed emotional range, but it was too late for me to care or want to start caring about his character's motivations by then. The most disappointing performance of the night was that of Yunina Brown-Payne, a beautiful girl that might have been cast on a certain "look." However, her acting was one-dimensional and superficial. It goes back to what I said in previous reviews about playing vs. being. Sometimes her performance was hard to watch. During strong scenes with Detria and Mirron, she brought the energy down when she entered the space. When going to a play, or in auditions, I am fighting for the actors and I want to see them shine. I want to see them tell the story with unadulterated truth and completely devote themselves to the needs of the character. Sometimes we are enamored with the idea of acting instead of the actual technique; but you are only as strong as your director. I believe Eileen J. Morris stepped up to the canvas and did a good job, but there were a few missed strokes in the overall picture. I would have liked to see more of a visceral connection between Kendrick and Yunina. There was a moment when Kendrick rubbed Yunina's cheek with his finger and she didn't react. Acting is reacting and this made their moments hard to watch, but this is my two cents, so spend them however you want.

Cleage's play was a playwriting master class. WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS has great characters and a romantic story that goes beyond political and color lines. This tour de force is definitely worth seeing. The show runs March 19 - April 12, 2015. For more information please visit: www.ensemblehouston.com

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