Review: CHARM at Mosaic Theater Company

There are plenty of plays, musicals and movies that deal with LGBT themes. There are very few, however, that deal with the specific topic of transgender. Mosaic Theater Company's latest offering Charm seeks to change that. While there is plenty not right with the play and production, you have to commend Mosaic for taking the artistic leap to delve into this topic.

If you are familiar with a film called Dangerous Minds, the plot by Philip Dawkins might similar to it. Our main character is Mama (B'Ellana Duquesne) who is an older transgender women volunteering her services at a LBGT center in Chicago. The center's mission is to provide a safe place for everyone to come and be accepted for who they are. Most of the center's clients are street kids. The center is run by D (Kimberly Gilbert) who goes by the initial because she has chosen to be considered neither man nor women.

Mama's charm class is based on Emily Post's famous etiquette book and her methods are not necessarily kosher. For example, she promises the students a tea party at a very ritzy hotel. This and other incidents don't fare well with D who has to look out for her job and deal with her board.

Mama feels that the way she teaches is the way to get through to her rag tag students; and, yes, they are a motley crew to be sure.

There's Ariella (Nyla Rose) who works the streets. Mama's class lessons have convinced Ariella that she is capable of getting higher class clients. This proves to be a gross misstep as the play progresses.

There's Jonelle (Justin Weakes) who ends up falling in love with the new kid Logan (Samy El-Noury). Then there is our couple Victoria and Donnie (Tamieka Chavis and Louie E. Davis). Donnie found out after the fact that Victoria was a lesbian but they stayed together for their kids' sake.

There's Beta (Clayton Pelham, Jr.) who was part of a street gang. The gang never knew of Beta's gender identity.

Last, but not least, there's Lady (Jonathan Feurer) who is a conflicted soul still trying to find his true identity.

There are a few other plot points to consider here beyond the interesting teaching methods. Mama is a diabetic and ultimately has an episode that lands her in the hospital. In a bizarre twist that sends the show off the rails, the ghost of Emily Post (played by Feurer) appears. You can't make this up.

As I see it, here are two big problems with Charm. The first one is that the story offers nothing you haven't seen or heard before. Even with the transgender slant, it still comes off as melodramatic and, for me, not very moving.

Along the lines of the last point, the lead actor B'Ellana Duquesne simply does not have the technique or presence to carry this show in the lead role of Mama. Apart from being quite stiff throughout in line delivery, there were places where Duquesne could not be heard. For the record, I was seated fourth row center so this should not have been an issue. I understand that Mosaic felt the need to cast a transgender performer, but you have to weigh political correctness against what is best for your production. I just have to wonder if this show would have had any more punch with another more experienced performer in that role.

On the plus side, there are three standout performances. The first is Nyla Rose as Ariella. Her portrayal of someone who has working the streets for twenty years is easily one of the performed characters in the show. The character is one of the better drawn ones, which also helps.

Tamieka Chavis as Victoria gives a very strong performance in her scene with Mama and throughout the rest of the play. Chavis has the even greater task to make that scene successful because her partner doesn't give her much to work with. All the dramatic power comes from Chavis.

Kimberly Gilbert as D proves once again that some performers can do no wrong and knock it out of the park every time. Much of the energy in the show comes from Gilbert's intense performance.

Director Natsu Onoda Power does what she can with the material, but the lack of a strong lead performer leaves Power with a no-win situation.

I did enjoy Daniel Conway's minimalistic classroom setting and Max Doolittle's lighting has a few snazzy effects attached to it.

Overall, Charm has a message that should be heard, especially in this unstable sociopolitical climate. We are all beautiful inside no matter what we look like on the outside. You have to applaud Mosaic Theater Company for presenting this play, but in the future, they need to look out for the show - a theatrical presentation - and not try to be all things to all people.

Running Time: Two Hours and 20 minutes with one intermission.

Charm runs through January 29th, 2017 at Atlas Performing Arts Center's Lang Theatre which is located at 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC. For tickets, click here.

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