Go, S. Epatha Merkerson!

“I’m 53 years old … and this is the first time I have ever been offered a lead role.” — from S. Epatha Merkerson’s Golden Globe speech for Lackawanna Blues.

I am thrilled to see that she has come back to Broadway in William Inge’s haunting play Come Back, Little Sheba … and I was almost nervous for her. I get weird like that. I get invested in someone’s career, as though I am their personal agent or manager. I just think she’s so good, and I love her. And imagining her in that part!!! How fascinating! The childlike sad little woman, living in her fantasy world … what a tragic piece of work. I read the play when I was a teenager, and almost resisted it. I resisted the hopelessness, the unbelievable sadness of that world, that woman. So to picture S. Epatha Merkerson – such a strong woman, an intelligent woman – in that role gave me goosebumps. I was filled with hope … that she would be fantastic.

The review of Little Sheba just came out and I have cried all the way thru reading it. I must see it. And thankfully, it’s in New York City – not Kathmandu, so I can actually see it!

The review opens with:

Sometimes, when she stops the restless chatter with which she fills her days and lets the silence take over, Lola Delaney seems to be staring at nothing in the deeply felt revival of “Come Back, Little Sheba,” which opened Thursday night at the Biltmore Theater. Yet as S. Epatha Merkerson portrays this housebound wife of an alcoholic, in a performance that stops the heart, her gaze is anything but empty.

In those moments Ms. Merkerson’s face is devoid of expression, except for her eyes. In them you read, with a clarity that scalds, thoughts that Lola would never admit she is thinking. Because if she did, there would really be no reason for her to keep on living.

The marvel of Ms. Merkerson’s performance in this revitalizing production of a play often dismissed as a soggy period piece is how completely and starkly she allows us to see what Lola sees. Conveying everything while seeming to do nothing is no mean feat — a rare accomplishment expected, perhaps, from seasoned stage stars like Vanessa Redgrave (in “The Year of Magical Thinking”) or Lois Smith (in the recent revival of “The Trip to Bountiful”).

This is so so exciting.

I just mentioned over on Marisa’s post about community theatre that Broadway sometimes lags behind community and local theatre – in its resistance to inter-racial casting. In college departments or small towns, it is normal to see blacks playing siblings of whites, etc. – because it’s a small pool of actors and everyone must be cast. It gives a nice egalitarian feel to it. Professional opera has gone that route – so if you have the voice, you get the part – regardless of race. But you still don’t see that much on Broadway. You get all-black casts of classic white scripts … but you rarely see that kind of creative casting. Recently, I saw 110 In the Shade, with the marvelous Audra McDonald in the lead role. It’s written for a white woman, but again, that doesn’t matter. And the character has 2 brothers, and a father. One brother was black, one was white, and the father was played by the fantastic John Cullum (who is white). And it wasn’t mentioned, or lingered over – it wasn’t a “gimmick” – it was just accepted. I found that SO refreshing. It’s about time!! Come Back Little Sheba has gone that route as well, and I’m very pleased to hear it. There is no reason why Romeo couldn’t be played by a black man, or Stanley Kowalski being black to a white Blanche or vice versa … The fact that the marriage in Little Sheba is an inter-racial marriage (and Doc is played by Kevin Anderson – a fine actor) definitely adds some oomph to the script – some layers that might not otherwise be there, although if you know the story – it would TOTALLY make sense. Again, it just makes me happy to see that kind of imaginative production, not limiting itself in terms of its casting. Good for them.

And listen to this excerpt from the review:

[Kevin Anderson’s] scalpel-edged viciousness in that scene means that Doc wounds Lola with surgical exactness. And Ms. Merkerson responds with an abjectness that makes you want to rush the stage and intervene. All through the play, Lola has had the air of someone expecting to be rebuffed, put down, hit or sent packing, whether cozying up to Doc or making nice with her supremely competent neighbor (Brenda Wehle, excellent).

Her compulsive chattiness on all subjects — including Little Sheba, the dog that disappeared from her life as completely and inexplicably as her youth — is obviously for keeping at bay the fears that steal up on her when it’s quiet. Ms. Merkerson and this production make sure that even when Lola is talking a blue streak, we also always hear the unspeakable gray silence that lies beneath.

Wow.

And Ms. Merkerson responds with an abjectness that makes you want to rush the stage and intervene.

God. If only all plays could make us respond in such visceral ways. I love it when I want to leap into the middle of the action, and try to save/divert/help … That’s the mark of a damn good play, and some awesome performances.

Go, S. Epatha Merkerson. Here’s the review again. I’m so there.