Review: SKELETON CREW at PTC-CHARTS Black Box

Black box shows may be my new favorite way to view plays. I’m not saying I don’t like the big stage productions, I’m just saying that I really like the intimacy that the black box creates when everyone is close together. Now, understandably, the cast has to be confident in their choices and storytelling, but that was not a problem with The Actors Theatre of Little Rock’s production of SKELETON CREW, written by Dominique Morisseau, directed by DeAndre Lewis, and co-produced with Ozark Living Newspaper Theatre Company. This production was held at the Pulaski Technical College Black Box Theatre August 10-13, 2023.  

SKELETON CREW is the third play in The Detroit Projects series and is based on the socio-political history of Detroit factory workers during the Obama reign. Set in a factory break room, four employees live out their lives while dealing with the rumor that the plant is going to close. Faye (Miki Gaynor) is the matriarch of the group and leader of the union. Shanita (Rhindi White) is young, pregnant and the recipient of Dez’s (Keith Harper) affections. Reggie (Taylor LeRon) is their boss and son of Faye’s friend. 

 Faye smokes, even though she has dealt with breast cancer, and has a gambling issue. Because of this, she is living in her car until it gets too cold, and then she moves into the break room. As the union leader, she wants to keep her fellow workers safe from being fired, but because Reggie is asking her to not make any big moves, she doesn’t press the issue. Shanita loves her job and finds purpose with what she makes on the floor and doesn’t want to take another job. Dez flirts with Shanita a lot, and eventually wins her over, despite the fact that he brings a gun to work for protection. Dez has aspirations of opening up his own business and needs the factory until he can save up enough money. Reggie has a family and mortgage and doesn’t want anything to happen to his job. Tempers rise, lines are super close to being crossed, and everyone has to make some big decisions.  

Before the show, Lawrence Smith, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and Dance at UA Little Rock, Angnolia B. Gay, CEO at An Intimate Exposure To African American Artists, Vice President of Cultural Immersion Media, and retired educator with the Little Rock School District, and K.V. Knox, owner of Opportunity Knox: PR/Marketing/Media and board member at Women in Film Arkansas, discussed unionization, white collar/blue collar relationships, and the recession of 2008.  

“I always knew when I went into teaching, and they asked me if I was interested in being in the Union- My father was in the Union,” Gay said. “My father was the Union Rep for the job that he worked at, so it was an easy decision for me. It wasn't always easy for everyone. And so, when I think about the union, for me it was a voice for the workers, because, of course, nobody was gonna come down there and talk to us individually. We had to identify that one person that would speak for us and hopefully help us have the leverage that we need to get those benefits that they weren't going to just automatically get.”  

Knox shared her grandmother’s concerns when her grandfather was a union rep. 

“Listening to her stories talk about my grandfather who was in the military and who was a post office worker and things like that, he was that one person that kind of spoke for everyone else. She talked about how scary that was and that time was for her in the recession and not knowing how they were going to eat; What’s going to happen to their retirement? Is it even going to be enough at that point? 

Smith spoke with us about getting his union card.  

“I was from a little steel town in Illinois, and I actually got my first union card when I was 19 years old. Unions were still strong then, but the stresses that happened to America and manufacturing were already well in place. You know, to me it's kind of ironic that like 40-50 years down the road, some people are still arguing about unions- like are they good idea or bad idea? I mean, honestly, my mom was a teacher and I'm a teacher, and I say whether you're in the union or not, almost anything you have at a job now a days is because of unions.” 

It was pretty obvious that a lot of the audience were teachers, because emotions started rising during the talk.  

“I would also like to say, can we imagine that today we’re working and then all of a sudden, your job that pays your lights, water, gas, you know, etc. it's threatened,” Gay challenges the crowd. “Can we just imagine that? This SKELETON CREW is scaled down to the bare minimum, and to have to choose which ones to keep and which ones to let go, can you imagine the ones that got let go and the anger and the frustration, and why people be doing what they do and walking up in jobs irate because there was no conversation? You know, people made decisions up here. And so, we are trying to figure out and trying to go through the daily grind of doing what we are supposed to do, not knowing what conversations are being had up top. Then those individuals who are representing, you know, the ones at the bottom, you know, sometimes we don't feel like they are really there for us. You know, sometimes just holding that position as a union Rep can sometimes be a hard place to be.  

Knox continued with that thought. 

"Think about when you have to be that voice for everybody,” Knox said. “That's a lot of pressure, because you're going around and hearing everybody, everybody has that talk at the water cooler. So, you know what everybody thinks and how they feel, and when you are in front of those up top, ‘are you trying to save yourself or are you gonna help me out? Because we've been here working beside each other for quite a little while. Did you really say what I need you to say? Did you forget about Johnny who's got doctor bills and other things that I also need to pay?’ So, I can only imagine what that's like. 

Smith then brought up racial challenges in the unions and how the play tied into it.  

“Tonight, you'll see a white-collar rep who came up through the ranks, and that's something that, you know, we're not talking about much, but for black laborers, joining unions and acquiring a position in unions was not an easy way to go. It broke down racial lines and ethnic lines. There's a lot of resistance, and this goes back to the Great Migration when folks were leaving the South and coming up to the north to find a better life. So, these people with their union here in the SKELETON CREW, that's another thing that’s been earned. It’s been earned by generations, and you’ll see that argument going on between someone who is so close to retiring and to the next generation coming along, and who gets it and what will this do for me? Then the person who's the white-collar Rep, but who's also like almost literally family to the union Rep here because of how they go back, and again, it's like he's just a cog. He's got the collar, but he's just the next level up.” 

After that, talk went into the teacher’s union and Screen Actors Guild, and we were all fired up when it was time to start the play, and let me tell you, this play was powerful! Though it all unfolded in a breakroom, these actors didn’t hold back when it came to unleashing their emotions about their character’s plight. 

This foursome had great chemistry and worked well as a team. Gaynor’s Faye was aggressive and tough, yet caring, and had a Whoopi Goldberg-esce quality to her. I loved how she controlled the situation whenever she was involved. Though Faye had a lot going against her, Gaynor gave a happy-go-lucky approach to her circumstances.  

White’s Shanita was so cute as a pregnant girl. She had great chemistry fighting off Dez, and I could see the hope she had in her eyes for a future with meaning. Harper’s Dez was outgoing and determined. His character pushed some social lines, and Harper really committed to the intentions. LeRon’s Reggie had poise and strength, but surprised everyone when he let his emotions go. The whole audience got into it, and when Reggie was confronting Faye and a man from the audience decided to jump in on the conversation, we all cracked up, but the actors stayed in character. It was intense! The whole audience was all wrapped up in the storytelling, and we all had a great time!  

I have really enjoyed seeing the variation of entertainment the Actor Theatre of Little Rock has been presenting, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Also, this was my first time viewing a production from Ozark Living Newspaper Theatre Company, and I hope to get to know them more.  

Coming up next is SWEENY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. For more information on this production, visit their website at actorstheatrelr.org.  

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