Review: WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS at Portland Playhouse

How much of ourselves do we owe to "the demands of history"? What happens when those demands come into direct conflict with our personal desires? Pearl Cleage explores these questions with humor and grace in her play WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS, now running a Portland Playhouse in cooperation with Penumbra Theatre Company.

The year is 1973, and Maynard Jackson has just won the Atlanta mayoral election, making him the first Black mayor not only of that city but of any major city in the South. Jackson's election team, J.P. Madison (Lester Purry) - a lawyer and prominent member of Atlanta society; his much younger second wife, Ann (Lauren Steele); his junior law partner John (La'Tevin Alexander); and Lena (Vinecia Coleman), the campaign manager, all gather in the apartment that served as the campaign headquarters to toast their success and prepare for the hard work ahead of them.

But, now that the whirlwind of the campaign is over, personal complications, which have been on the back burner, start to shove their way into the spotlight. First, over the course of the campaign, Ann and John have fallen in love and made plans to run away together. Then it comes to light that J.P. and Ann aren't actually married, a situation that J.P. wants to correct as soon and as discreetly as possible because he has just made the short list for city councilor and can't be living in sin. This puts Ann at a crossroads - does she follow her heart or do what she feels is right by her family and community?

To complicate the whole situation, J.P.'s first wife, Eve Madison (Cycerli Ash), returns unexpectedly from California, where she has been for the past two years, and starts meddling in everyone's affairs (it's her apartment, after all). Since she left, Eve has been on a journey of self-discovery, and she returns with a mission to make sure that gender equality gets its rightful seat beside racial equality at the civil rights table.

So, we have a web of romantic entanglements set against the backdrop of politics at a time when, like now, the political landscape is changing rapidly and everyone is trying to figure out where they fit, not just as members of a movement but as people. It's not as heavy as it sounds. In fact, I'd describe it as a light-hearted comedy.

It's also not as much about politics or the love triangle as it is about Eve. A former actress, Eve is the "I" of the title and, though she claims a supporting role, she's solidly in the driver's seat from the moment she steps on stage. Cycerli Ash is fabulous. She sashays around in colorful outfits that make everyone else fade into the furniture, speechifies gloriously, and sneakily upstages anyone who dares step into her spotlight. You get the idea that the whole thing is a play written by Eve, who manipulates everyone into playing roles of her choosing. The rest of the cast is also excellent, particularly Lauren Steele, who portrays Ann's dilemma with the right balance of depth and humor, and Vinecia Coleman, whose Lena is the only practical one of the bunch.

WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS is a chameleon of a play. If you want to see a romantic comedy, it fits the bill. If you like stories about the impact of historical moments on the lives of individuals, it fits that bill as well. And it especially fits the bill if you agree with me that Cycerli Ash and Lauren Steele are two of the brightest stars currently on Portland stages.

WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS runs at Portland Playhouse through March 26. More details and tickets here.

Photo by Shawnte Sims