Review: IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER ... WALKIN' TALKIN' BILL HAWKINS at Atlas

W. Allen Taylor's one man play "In Search of My Father ... Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins" is more than personal genealogy.

His father, unknown to him most of his lifetime, was also a significant figure in black radio -- one of the first such DJs in the country, whose jive talking show show in Cleveland had legions of fans and likely influenced another DJ at his station, Allen Freed, in presenting the day's upbeat rhythm and blues as rock 'n' roll.

Taylor, a longtime actor, put together the show that chronicled the long search for his father over a number of years and his current production at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, he said, brings it into its 20th year.

Its content is timeless as it is universal, as it reflects black culture in the mid-20th century even as he becomes each of the interview subjects he meets - a proper church lady who eschews R&B, a smooth singing nightclub singer, a street corner fan and a guy at the barber shop.

Taylor's got a knack for picking up and reflecting dialect, tying it all into the emotional story of a young man searching for clues about a man he never met during his lifetime - or knew he was meeting. There was an awkward job interview with the Urban League that was a pretense for the man to meet his son at least once.

Taylor puts on the persona of his fast-talking father as easily as putting on a stylish hat and sunglasses and starting up his patter, familiar to a generation of Ohioans: "Hey all you hep cats and chicks, gather round! It's time to dig the sounds of the man with the plan - Walkin' and Talkin' Bill Hawkins, walking' my walk and talking' my talk. Back on the scene with my record machine. I'm gonna put more dip in your hip, more slide in your glide and make sure you know how to ride!"

Just as easily, Taylor slips back into his youth, begging his mom for information on his dad that she won't provide. He even becomes a DJ himself, not knowing his father's career.

Taylor's got an ease around the stage, a dancer's move between characters, and proves when he is in the guise of the nightclub crooner, that he's got a decent singing voice as well.

The device of putting on a record at key points provides nice transitions as well as maybe the best soundtrack of a one-man show you'll hear this season - with John Coltrane, Big Mama Thornton, and a whole lot of James Brown. (It's an odd bit of stage craft, though: rather than bother with a real turntable, he's got a plywood desk with a record-shaped hole in it and he just drops it in to play. Which probably explains why some of the platters are otherwise inexplicably broken).

Written and performed by Taylor, the original direction of the play is by Ellen Sebastian Chang at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond, Calif. Stage manager here is Broadway World's own Elliot Lanes.

The piece still has a workshop air to it, and might work better as a one act. But it always succeeds in bringing a feeling of familial pride and respect for his forebears as well as love for the music and the era.

Along those lines, the Atlas production heralds more family closeness - it's his first performance since moving to D.C. to be closer to his daughter and family. With any luck we'll see Taylor on future stages, or better yet, on the radio, continuing the family tradition.

Running time: 95 minutes, with one 10 minute intermission.

Photo: W. Allen Taylor as "Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins"

"In Search of My Father...Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins" continues through eb. 10 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center Lab Theatre II, 1333 H St NE. Tickets available online.

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