Review - The Night Watcher: Don't 'Ah, Ma' Me

Charlayne Woodard and her husband, Harris, have raised three dogs. They're far easier to care for than children and they allow you the freedom to make choices in your life whereas a baby can determine all of your choices for decades. At least that's the reasoning they used when no less than Alfre Woodard called on behalf of an adoption agency that matches mixed-race babies with mixed-race couples and informed her that there was a young Stanford student at Cedars-Sinai giving birth to a boy at that very moment and all she and Harris would have to do is drive over, sign some papers and catch their very own baby boy, "hot out of the oven."

But while Charlayne Woodard seems perfectly satisfied with her choice not to be a mommy, her charming, moving and very funny new solo piece, The Night Watcher, is filled with a brood of nieces, nephews, godchildren and children of friends who call her Auntie Charlayne. As a temporary adult authority figure, somewhere between a parent and a friend, she demonstrates both the awkwardness and the rewards of these unique loving relationships using nothing more than a bare stage, a chair, a captivating text, attention-grabbing stage presence and knack for story-telling and light, humorous direction by Daniel Sullivan.

The title comes from a story of her nephew, Nala, who forces himself to stay up at night to watch over the house because his absent and abusive father threatened to burn it down if he doesn't get to visit. Before that we learn of Woodard's goddaughter, Indira, who confides in Auntie Charlayne about her unplanned teenage pregnancy. Her friend's daughter, Africa, is a confident, flirtatious girl who enjoys the attention she gets from men, but Woodard discovers she's also illiterate. A bit more comical is the story of a visit from her brother-in-law's adopted mixed-race materialistic daughter, Benamarie, who surprises her host with a prejudice against black people, despite her own appearance.

Each child is portrayed by Woodard with sincere affection, even when they're being annoying, but her most memorable portrayal is that of Rosa, a delightfully animated great-grandmother who tries to get Woodard to adopt her grandson's abused infant girl because she doesn't feel capable of doing it at her age. Her description of a horrifying act of violence which could have killed the baby is all the more effective because the story is told with a straightforwardness and simplicity that reminds the listener that such incidents are not as unusual as we may think.

From Jess Goldstein's flowing and flattering wardrobe to Geoff Korf's embracing lighting to Obadiah Eaves' jazzy sound design to the soft images in Tal Yarden's projections, everything about the production surrounds Woodard in a sweet and pretty atmosphere, perfectly framing the already irresistible words and performance.

Photo of Charlayne Woodard by James Leynse.

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