APRIL 21, 1995 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
21
EVENINGS OUT
Effects of denial made clear in well-acted AIDS drama
Before It Hits Home by Cheryl West
Karamu Theatre Through April 30
Reviewed by Barry Daniels
Fine acting and intensely dramatic scenes highlight Cleveland's Karamu Performing Arts Theatre production of Cheryl West's Before It Hits Home. This 1989 play deals with AIDS and homophobia in the AfricanAmerica community. It is a subject that unfortunately remains as timely now as when it was first written.
West's drama portrays how a middle class African-American family deals with the reality of their eldest son's bisexuality, which is revealed when he returns home dying of
AIDS. The play is de-
signed to confront the
revelations provides for a series of riveting scenes that leave the audience emotionally drained.
The success of the production is largely due to the acting of the fine cast assembled by director Dale Shields. Jacqueline West as Reba is both a smothering, doting mother and a brutally unforgiving homophobe. A. G. Alexander's Bailey is a proud patriarch who has difficulty expressing his feelings. His strength and unconditional love illuminate the final scenes of the play. Doug Jewell gives a perfectly realized performance as Wendal's lover Douglass. His tender and loving presence send a strong message about the positive nature of the two men's love. Anthony E. Nickerson's Wendal is the center of the production. Nickerson is a powerful
They remind us the
African-American epidemic is here with
community with issues it has tended to deny because of its strong family-ori-
ITE
ented values and its emphasis on traditional machismo in
us: pretending it doesn't exist won't make it go away
men. But the suffering and oppression felt by her protagonist will have resonance for anyone who has dealt with AIDS or internalized homophobia.
In Act I of Before It Hits Home, jazz musician Wendal Bailey learns he is HIV positive and develops symptoms of fullblown AIDS. His level of denial is extraordinary, and it is painful for us to watch him try to acknowledge the reality of a sexuality he has kept so deeply closeted. His inability to tell his female lover is horrifying: preservation of machismo is stronger than the threat of death. The true nature of Wendal's sexuality is revealed in poignant scenes with his male lover, Douglass, a married father of two children. Both men are trapped in socially determined heterosexual relationships. The love they express is tender and real, and it is an important statement that Douglass stays by Wendal and helps as much as he can.
Act II shows what happens when Wendal returns to his family. The long dinner scene which opens the act is a brilliantly written study in family dynamics that moves from the warmth of a reunion to the awakening of old hostilities and the resulting anger and recriminations. Wendal, the eldest son, always coddled by his mother, Reba, has been a disappointment to his father. His apparently wayward life stands in contrast to that of his brother, Junior, home on leave from the army. How the family deals with Wendal's
and beautiful man. He captures the many complex levels of Wendal's personality: fear, denial and confusion. He shows us the strength and pride Wendal gradually finds as he comes to accept himself and his sexuality. Director Shields is clearly passionately committed to the play's messages, and he has real talent in dealing with the actors. He is less successful in the physical staging of the play. Andrea Bechert's set is confused and awkward to use; scene changes are too long and break the dramatic tension. Shields fails to find a rhythm for the staccato scenes of Act I and misses the stylization needed for the difficult, finely written scene in which Wendal moves between a dialogue with his male and female lovers.
Before the play and during the intermission, slides of headlines and articles from local newspapers are projected on the wall of the set. "AIDS on the Rise in Cleveland." "AIDS Doesn't Discriminate." They remind us the epidemic is here with us: pretending it doesn't exist won't make it go away. Before It Hits Home makes this message concrete by showing us the human reality of the effects of denial and homophobia. West's drama is an important work. Cleveland is fortunate to have a theatre brave enough to stage the play. The Karamu production hits home. Don't miss it.
Before It Hits Home continues at the Arena Theatre, Karamu House, through April 30. Performances are Thursday-Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets are $10 (Thursday and Sunday) and $12 (Friday and Saturday). For reservations telephone 216795-7077.
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