Review: Riveting BEE-LUTHER-HATCHEE in a Rare Revival at Sierra Madre Playhouse
By: Don Grigware Jan. 17, 2017
Bee-Luther-Hatchee/by Thomas Gibbons/directed by Saundra McClain/Sierra Madre Playhouse/through February 18
Thomas Gibbons' rarely seen exploration of responsibility in reporting black culture and sensibility Bee-Luther-Hatchee is receiving an engrossing production at Sierra Madre Playhouse with meticulous direction from Saundra McClain and a superb cast of five,
What a strange title! At one point in the action of the play, Libby Price (Leilani Smith) defines it as " the last stop on the train after Hell, where, across a racial divide, souls are separated by darkness and can never communicate". 72 year-old Libby writes her memoir in Charleston, South Carolina with Bee-Luther-Hatchee as the title. It is published in 1999 by a small company in New York by editor Shelita Burns (Tamarra Graham), whose black soul is transformed and enriched by the dignity of Libby's long-suffering life. She feels a deep need to meet Libby and begins a quest to find her. She is supposedly living in Charleston in a nursing home, but when Shelita finds that she is not or never has been there, it becomes apparent that Libby wants to remain a mystery. After all, she refused to put her photo on the book jacket and would not grant interviews of any kind. Enter white author Sean Leonard (Christian Lebano) who claims to have written the memoir. No one can communicate the torment of black life except a black who has lived in the skin, gone through the history and experienced it blow by blow. According to Shelita, Leonard is a fraud and the book a travesty. She must discredit him. Truth must win out.
Journalists swear to tell the truth. We are not talking about those who write for the Inquirer, but real journalists. In this story, a potential interviewer (Jon Sprik) wants an interview with Price and when he asks how Shelita's meeting with Price went, she lies. Sheilita Burns is therefore not without fault. But her dedication to her work and devotion to what is right will not let her disMiss Leonard's despicable actions in assuming the identity of Libby Price. Gibbons leaves the ending open for the audience to choose sides. I cannot bend, but many will and sympathize with Leonard who in fact did write a compelling story that won over the public and made the book a bestseller.
Under director McClain's wonderfully detailed staging and fluid pacing, the ensemble pull us in and do not let go. Graham is a marvel of intensity and overall honesty as Shelita. She makes the character a fine upstanding black woman who sticks to her guns. Lebano plays Leonard in top form. He is forceful in creating a writer who justifies his artistic achievement, in spite of the fact that he is white. "Is it because I'm white that you are acting this way?" he asks Shelita and her answer is "Yes". Christopher Scot Murillo has designed a brilliantly functional set with a colorful scrim behind which past actions take place. Price lives out episodes of her life here, as Shelita or Leonard read from Bee-Luther-Hatchee. With Smith essaying Price, the role is in dynamic hands. She expresses every nuance of pain and suffering that Libby has experienced. Jon Sprik does double duty, also skillfully playing Robert. This man hires Libby as a nanny for his son, all the while trying openly to express his love for her in an intolerant world. Olivia Cristina Delgado completes the cast beautifully as Anna, Shelita's compassionate friend and as a devoted nun who works at the nursing home where Libby supposedly lived.
If you are prone to dismiss truth and to praise the talent of those who have gotten to a higher ground through deceit, you may undoubtedly claim, "Oh, everybody does it to get ahead in this world." Bee-Luther-Hatchee makes you stop and think. Is this just another example of the black vs. white issue,or does it hold far deeper and more meaningful value? Don't miss this play through February 18 at Sierra Madre Playhouse! It's a powerhouse....and boy oh boy, is it timely!
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