Review: Unusually Bold and Engrossing FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS by Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright at the Taper

Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)/by Suzan-Lori Parks/directed by Jo Bonney/Mark Taper Forum/through May 15

Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks has the uncanny ability to get under your skin and really make you feel the turmoil and misery of the black soul. In her latest play, now onstage at the Mark Taper Forum through May 15 entitled Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3), Parks takes the audience back to 1862 and the slave involvement in the Civil War starting with the anticipation and fear of going off to war, then witnessing the horrors of the actual war itself, and the aftermath for returning soldiers and their families. Under the sturdy hand of director Jo Bonney, the cast is amazing... and the play is mostly fascinating to watch, mainly because Parks' style does not repeat itself from part to part.

Part I is like an introduction, and the players, a Greek chorus. A musician (Steven Bargonetti), who strums and sings at intervals throughout the play, and eight locals on a modest plantation in Texas discuss whether Hero (Sterling K. Brown) will go off to war with his master/boss or will stay at home with his wife Penny (Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris). They remind one of the two characters in Waiting for Godot, who prance about in an entertaining fashion and do nothing but pose the simple question: will he or won't he? Homer (Larry Powell) cannot go to war because his foot had been cut off. He, jealous of Hero's marriage, is also in love with Penny. We find out a few details like this, but it's pretty much the basic question that keeps repeating itself until Hero finally leaves for war, hoping that in the end he will be freed by his master. An interesting note in Part I is that Parks' beautiful poetry evokes a musical texture; even without the accompaniment you can feel the musical rhythms through the rhymes of the words underneath.

Part II is a 360 degree turn to a battle somewhere in the wilderness, miles from home, where Hero tends to his boss, Colonel (Michael McKean), who has taken a Yankee prisoner, Smith (Josh Wingate). Smith's leg has been severely wounded...and he professes to Hero to have negro blood. Colonel keeps him in a wooden cage like a trapped animal, letting him out now and again to taunt him and play with him mercilessly. The Colonel is a truly wicked creature who professes that his only love is being born white. He jokes about having promised Hero his freedom; he has no intention of letting him go. The brutality of war is all wrapped up in the actions and attitude of this colonel, who lives to hate. Hero, nonetheless, shows some compassion toward Smith. He takes his Yankee jacket and sets him free, when Colonel is not around. There's a repetitive line that resounds loud and clear: When freedom comes, who will I belong to? Parks makes us realize that if freedom does exist, it will come at a high price.

Part III is the aftermath in 1863, once again on the sparse plantation in Texas. It is freer, looser in style and presented with an abundance of humor. A proclamation of freedom of the slaves has been announced. Hero's dog (Patreena Murray) talks and acts out a long story about her odyssey with Hero and relates that, unlike the Colonel, who has died, Hero is coming home. Hers is one hilarious monologue; talk about a vaudevillian-like turn, unanticipated, straight out of the Theatre of the Absurd! There are also three Runaway Slaves (Russell G. Jones, Julian Rozzell Jr., Tonye Patano) staying briefly on the homestead with Penny, who serve once again as a chorus of onlookers, relating the conflicts on the plantation. The humor that Parks uses in this part is like comic relief, for both Penny and Hero have shocking news for each other. She is pregnant with Homer's child. Hero has been unfaithful as well and intends for the girl, who lives on the Colonel's plantation, to bear him children. But Hero still expects Penny to stay his wife and for her to accept this triangular living arrangement willingly.

Suzan-Lori Parks manages within three hours to convey what it's like to anticipate the actions of war and to live through them, as well as to portray the loss of loyalty and love at home. It's quite an achievement. The entire cast are outstanding. Michael McKean steals Part II as the Colonel, a selfish, ruthless man who lives to prey on others. His is a truly remarkable performance. Brown as Hero and Powell as Homer are wonderfully clear in keeping the antagonism between the two men alive. Luqmaan-Harris is perfect in her bitter resentment of Hero's betrayal. Hero is no longer the hero! The entire ensemble contribute expertly with Murray a special standout as the dog. Why did Parks give the dog words to say? Maybe because it's a dog's duty to stay loyal to his master, to the very end...even when everyone else has not. (photo below) Set design by Neil Patel and ESosa's costumes are simplistic and functional, well suiting the bleak and dirty, war-soaked ambiance of the play. Don't miss Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) for a uniquely different and unusually engrossing experience.

www.centertheatregroup.org

To post a comment, you must register and login.