BWW Reviews: RADIO GOLF Not Quite Ready for Prime Time

Maybe it was just a bad day at Black Theatre Troupe, but David Hemphill's production of August Wilson's Radio Golf seemed more like a rehearsal with too many glitches yet to be worked out and a highly experienced cast not yet comfortable in their roles. Add to the mix a script that may be the least impressive of Mr. Wilson's epic decalogy of black life in America, the Pittsburgh Cycle.

It is not that Mr. Wilson's race- and justice-related themes lack relevance but this script is mostly lackluster, lapsing into sophomoric political theatre and lacking the wit and poignancy that generally typify his work. The tensions between the characters, each with distinct aspirations and definitions of success, fall flat, in large part because of stumbled lines, uncertain blocking, tedious pacing, inconsistent sound effects, and insufficient and faulty props. (In this Thursday afternoon performance, posters of Martin Luther King and Tiger Woods kept dropping off the wall!)

Harmond Wilks (Kwane Vedrene), mayoral aspirant and realtor, has big plans for a new multi-use redevelopment project that will resurrect the old and blighted Hill District until he discovers that a home in the path of the bulldozer was secured illegally. His is a struggle to do right by preserving the property and modifying the project while his partner, Roosevelt Hicks (Calion Maston), is willing to overlook the truth and, come hell or high water, make a financial bundle. Hicks's path to success is being the tool of white entrepreneurs who can reap minority tax incentives if they have a minority on board. He cannot countenance Wilks's idealism. Theirs is the struggle between truth, justice, and the American way of business. Harmond's loyal wife, Mame, passionately and convincingly played by Lillie Richardson, strives to be her own woman, vying for a position in the Governor's office and finding that her identity and fate are tied to the credibility and success of her mate who is determined to do the right thing even if it's at the expense of his dreams for Pittsburgh.

If there are bright spots in the show, they are in the performances of T.A. Burrows as Elder Joseph Barlow, the wily and chatty owner of the home facing the bulldozer, and Roosevelt Watts as Sterling Johnson, a freelance handyman whose barbed insights reveal inconvenient truths about ethnic authenticity and ethical behavior. Both have infectious comic sensibilities and a firm command of their place on the stage.

There's a good deal of correction to be done, if possible, on lines, timing, lighting, and sound before the show ends its run on October 12th at the Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center in Phoenix.

Photo credit to Laura Durant