OCTOBER 29, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

ENTERTAINMENT

simplistic solutions to race and class differences

Distant Fires

Karamu and Dobama Theatres

Reviewed by Barry Daniels

Kevin Heelan's Distant Fires, a co-production of the Karamu Performing Arts Theatre and Dobama Theatre, takes a hard look at issues of race and class in American society. The play is designed to make us consider the complexities of what is often too easily dismissed as "the black-white question." Heelan offers no simplistic solutions to the problems he exposes. The effect is rather like opening up a wound that we, the audience, carry collectively, irrespective of our individual ethnic or racial background.

Distant Fires takes place on a hot summer day. It is set on the tenth floor of a construction site in Ocean City, Maryland.

The play is designed to make us consider the complexities of what

is often too easily dismissed as "the blackwhite question."

The fires of the previous evening's riots in the Cambridge ghetto are burning in the distance. Five construction workers-three African-American men and two white men go about their tasks naturally, talking and ioking

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a series of tense confrontations that illustrate some of the ways issues of race and class are embedded in our thinking.

Setting up oppositions that reveal racist or classist thinking is the essence of Heelan's method. In the first scene we are offered the stereotype of the sexually powerful black man contrasted with the sexually repressed white man. Sexually exuberant Raymond teases the somewhat innocent Catholic high school student, Angel. Throughout the three black men share sexual bravado that clearly upsets both Angel and unmasks a certain insecurity in the hunky hillbilly character, Beauty. (It is interesting that in this area of sexuality, the white gay viewer is in some ways able to identify more easily with the black men's position.) There is a nicely realized scene in which we see Beauty's discomfort at having to take orders from Thomas, for, in the traditional structure of Beauty's world, a black man, no matter how

competent he may be, is always inferior to

a white man, no matter how dumb and incompetent the white man may be. And we get the inverse of this attitude from the black perspective, in a hilarious scene in which the three black men mock the hopelessly stupid Beauty.

There are scenes that reveal differences of class within race. Thomas is a hardworking African-American who has moved out of the ghetto and tries valiantly to fit into the white system that more often than not continues to overlook or reject him. He is contrasted with Foos, whose disaffection and anger are part of the attitude that led to the riot in the ghetto. Foos' rage explodes in a powerful monologue at the end of the first act in which he describes a brutal confrontation with the police when he left his house the night before to buy an ice cream cone. Foos' spirit of rebellion also contrasts with Raymond's cynicism. Raymond sees no end to the oppression of blacks and sees no point in Thomas' blind hope or Foos' self-torture. In the second act there is a brutally honest scene between the three African-American men in which the distance between them is made to seem as great as that between them and white society. Finally, there is an opposition between the uneducated white man, Beauty, and the privileged, educated white youth, Angel. Beauty's vicious baiting of Angel powerfully reveals the class hatred that exits in white society.

Underlying the above contrasts and oppositions is the very real structure of the workplace in which incompetent white workers are favored over more competent African-Americans by both the unions and the bosses. That this promotion of incompetence can lead to danger and life-threatening situations for the workmen is another truth the play exposes.

Jeff Gruszewski's staging of Distant Fires succeeds brilliantly. The simple tasks of the workplace are executed with precision: a frame for a poured concrete pillar is constructed and the rods for the concrete floor are carefully wired in place during the course of the action. The actor's give vivid renderings of Heelan's beautifully observed characters. Robert J. Williams has presence and charm as the fast-talking, pleasure-loving, Raymond. Val Mayerik is very funny as Beauty, whose perfectly modeled tits and powerful, sinewy arms can't make up for his singularly small brain. Mayerik lets us see the tortured slowness of Beauty's attempts at thinking and makes a comic aria out of a string of inarticulate "yeahs." As Thomas, Edward Lewis captures the upright honesty and diligence of the character as well as his pained realization that Raymond may well be right in his cynicism.

CHARLTON B. GAVITT

Robert J. Williams (standing) and Kevin Casey survey the nearby ghetto in Distant Fires, a co-production of Karamu and Dobama Theatres

There is a pathos in his struggle to make it in a world where the decks all seemed stacked against him. Laid-back and jittery at the same time, Rodney Chase Williams' Foos is compelling. He's on edge, and we are never sure where his anger will strike. Kevin Casey is excellent at portraying Angel's good-hearted innocence and teenage awkwardness. As the supervisor, General, who betrays Thomas, Martin John Kralick is suitably uncomfortable and aware of his own sleaziness.

Before concluding I want to draw attention to the fact that the world Heelan depicts in Distant Fires is the world of straightand with the exception of Angel-not very well-educated men. They often use language that is oppressive of women and of gay men. Although gender issues are not the subject of the play, it is not inappropriate to remember how language functions as a structure of oppression in our world.

Heelan's success is to have constructed so artfully the intricate structure of oppositions that illustrate his points while maintaining a surface that appears absolutely natural. His understanding of his characters is sharp and compassionate. There is as much tenderness, warmth, and humor in the play as there is anger and frustration. Race and class are present, and they won't go away easily. I continue to believe that excellent and thought-provoking productions like this collaboration between Karamu and Dobama are one way we can take a next step to reform our sadly divided community.

Performances of Distant Fires, which opened in the Arena Theatre at Karamu House, continue through November 7 at Dobama Theatre, Thursday-Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets are $9 on Thursday and Sunday and $10 on Friday and Saturday with a $2 discount for students and seniors. For reservations phone 932-6838. ✔

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