Review: Chad Beckim's Provocative LIGHTS RISE ON GRACE at Stageworks

Stageworks gets it. If you want the Tampa area to be taken seriously as a theatre community, then you must produce exciting new plays by new playwrights. So on top of their popular staples this year--the upcoming Inherit the Wind and Broadway Bound--they start the season off with Chad Beckim's scorching new work, LIGHTS RISE ON GRACE. It was named Outstanding Play at the New York Fringe, and now it's being performed as part of the "Rolling World Premiere" of the National New Play Network's Continued Life program.

And it's powerful stuff.

The story seems simple in re-telling: The daughter of Chinese immigrants (Grace) falls in love with a black man named Large, who connects in a very complicated way with a white man (Riece) that he met in prison; the show follows several years in their lives, hopscotching through time periods--high school, prison, married life. It's sort of like a Tarantino movie in its structure--fast-forwarding to the future before rewinding to the past. It may sound simple, but it's not. Not when the characters (and there are many) are played by just three extremely talented actors--Jessica Stone, Aaron Washington, and Alexander Craddock. There is nothing easy about this show. It's complicated, but never once was the audience lost or shrugging its collective shoulders in confusion. Due to Karla Hartley's expert direction and Beckim's astute script, everything remained clear, concise and tight.

LIGHTS RISE ON GRACE is only 75 minutes long, no intermission, and it whisks by but never seems rushed. Scenes and characters flow into one another, and the action is quite fluid, exquisitely staged. It deals with tough issues, but we keep watching, never turning away, because the director makes sure that we care for each of these characters.

As Grace, the beautiful Jessica Stone simply shines. She captures the yearnings of this Chinese-American, the confusion she feels when she knows something is wrong with the man she loves. She inhabits each character she plays with equal aplomb. Stone is a find as an actress, and it's refreshing to see so many new (talented) performers onstage.

Aaron Washington as Large overdoes it at first and comes across too much like a child in his first few moments (this is not an elementary school playground). But then he finds the right tone and gives a standout performance. He's quite complex, and yet we never doubt his need, his confusion in loving both his wife and another man.

Craddock's Riece is also complex, but we see what Large sees in him. A sense of security, understanding, and perhaps a truer, deeper love. Large can be himself around Riece because Riece is comfortable in his own tattooed skin.

The three actors dig deep and find so much in their character excavation. They also become dozens of side characters--most prejudging, some speaking in other languages--and we see each personality come to life. This is a major accomplishment. What could end up as second rate and staid turns out to be very moving; perhaps only real actors with real ability can pull off this theatrical sleight of hand. So often when a person plays several characters, some of the parts get lost in the mix. Not here.

The apparent simplicity of Frank Chavez's set works quite well, especially when accompanied by Joseph P. Oshry's effective lighting. I like that on the set piece is a faded drawing of a man and woman kissing, with splotches of red outlining their faces; only when the play begins do the splotches of red resembled dripping blood. The costumes don't really add anything to the characters, mainly because they don't need to.

Best of all is Ezra Haughabrooks brilliantly evocative musical accompaniment. The music underscores the emotions of the show without ever getting in the way; in some ways, it could be called the show's fourth main character.

Beckim's script is that oxymoron--poetic realism--that delves deep into race, sexuality, gender, and beliefs. It's an overwhelming experience. In the end the show has earned its love, its rawness, its freshness, its understanding. It has earned the chills and tears that it induces. I thought of little else the day after I saw it, replaying many of the scenes in my head--which I guess is the best proof that this is one powerful show.

LIGHTS RISE ON GRACE plays thru this Sunday, October 25th. For tickets, please call (813) 374-2416.

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