The cool air outside was pleasant. Not a perfect night for a play as heavy as “Miss Evers’ Boys”. Upon entering the lobby of Ira Aldridge Theater, I was greeted by a young lady whose personality seemed to blast through her attire. Like this young lady, director Danielle Drakes shone through this production of Miss Evers’ Boys. Knowing that a director has to honor the integrity of the written play while she creates her own vision within the intended vision already set forth by the playwright, Drakes presented a fantastic production.
Miss Eunice Evers’ character was played strongly by Mary Miller. Miss Millers performance was incredible. She was able to embody the character very well. Her tears and concern all seemed genuine. Willie Johnson was a very likable character. Stanley Jackson, III did an amazing job in pulling this character to life. His volume on stage alone was perfect and his feelings what ever they were at whatever time, were infectious. When Willie was excited over something the entire audience was too. Caleb Humphries with his overalls also was very good at engaging the audience. Edwin Brown III was vibrant in his performance and truly committed to his character. We saw this especially toward the end of his life where he was doing rituals in the moon light and kept chanting what seemed to be “Chaaaaaa”, in an effort to save his life from the “Bad Blood” (syphillis) that was now killing him on many levels including mentally. Adarius Smith played the character Ben Washington with a high level of integrity. Ben was a character that brought the audience closer to many feelings in the play and to the real experiences of the men who were part of this experiment.
The director took us into the lives of these four men and brought the play alive. I thought that Jeff Kirkman who played Caleb Humphries was not convincing in his character at the beginning of the play and at other points through out the first half of the play. His words were not very clear and at times, his volume low. This translated to the audience a seeming disbelief in his own acting ability. However things turned around when he was getting the spinal tap. He showed his amazing talent here. I actually had to look away to not feel the pain of the needle. He was very convincing in this scene. I thought that the director could have worked a little more with both him and Dr. John Douglas (played by Eric Humphries) to appear a bit more confident in their characters as well as their engagement with the audience. While one needs not stare into the faces of the audience at many points their blocking was at times unprofessional. Their backs were to the audience while they were talking. This caused a lot of information to be lost. An example of this was seen throughout the play with Dr. Douglas. As a result he seemed to have a problem connecting to the audience.
Dr. Eugene Brodus, indeed had a fiery personality filled with arrogance. This character was not very likable. Despite this, Henian Boone did a good job in delivering arrogance. Boone did not seem committed to his character. It was hard to feel authenticity. He seemed to know his lines very well but a little more sincerity may have helped his overall interpretation of the character which would have been conveyed smoothly.
The flow of the play was in tune with the subject matter of the play. There was a rhythm that kept the audience engaged. It was slow at times but just slow enough for the audience to connect to the lives of the men and the emotions and thoughts of Miss Evers. Then the speed would pick up again. Sometimes it was in the words of Miss Evers or in the dancing of Willie. Yet another rhythm was present. It was the light and dark of the stage: the narrow lighting focused on Miss Evers alone and then the expanded lighting on the men. The play also exhibited a range of emotions, which contributed to this overall rhythm. At times the audience would be laughing and at other times feel fear and cry.
The proscenium space was a good choice for this play. The props and costuming were excellent in conveying Alabama and the location of the “clinic”. The props came to life with the various lighting that was used. The blue light in the background gave a haunting and expectant feeling. When there was the red light the audience felt anxious. The lighting for the ritual scene was very good at capturing the idea of outside. This lighting together with the sound effects of crickets and the props, which conveyed “woods”, really brought this scene to life. The costuming was able to both convey the period of time as well as fit the personalities of the characters almost perfectly. The makeup artist did an amazing job overall but especially with Willie. His eyes popped out at the audience when he was sick. He looked pale and very sick.
I appreciated the symbolism created between the whiteness of Miss Evers nurse hat and the whiteness of the coats worn by the doctors and which she sometimes wore. This “whiteness” highlighted the racial bias of this experiment. It highlighted the unfair, biased and cruel role played by “whiteness” in this experiment. The fact that under her coat and on her body she wore black symbolized her blackness and her ability to connect with the men. This juxtaposition of black and white highlighted her own juxtaposition as not only a pawn in the plan but also as a pawn who knew and contributed to the dismemberment of these men’s lives.
The playwright and director were talented in showing the internal battle fought by Miss Evers in this play. She wanted to help the men but got in so very deep it was hard for her to maintain any integrity as a black person. She tried to hold on until the funding resumed and even argued with the “black” doctor for their lives. She however was made to reflect on the results of her actions in the scene where Willie is dancing for her with his sluggish legs and shouting at her to “watch!”
The audience left quite solemnly into the night. As they held their programs all were reminded of the Tuskegee Experiment as is symbolized by the white on the programs cover and the “Bad Blood” syphilis that these men endured by the red. Blood red and white were a good choice made by the dramaturge Ariel Danley.
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