Friday, November 14, 2003

By Anna Rosenstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

One of the nice things about watching a new company develop in an established theater is seeing how they make the space their own. Mark Southers' Pittsburgh Playwrights' Theatre Company has paid a lot of attention to the visual dynamics of the Penn Theater. The poles are still there, still stubbornly blocking sightlines, but Southers seems to be taking great care in making the sets audience-friendly.

	'Hambone' WHERE: Pittsburgh Playwrights' Theatre at Penn Theater, Garfield. WHEN: Through Nov. 30. 8 p.m. Fri.; 3 and 8 p.m. Sat.; 6 p.m. Sun. TICKETS: $12.50- $17.50; 412-441-2213.

For "Hambone," there are several distinct playing areas, tables stage left and right, an upstage serving counter and a bench downstage left. Director Tre Garrett, who designed the set along with Southers, keeps the actors moving smoothly and naturally between them so there are never extended periods during which views might be obstructed. It's an attractive set as well, looking like the neighborhood sandwich shop it's supposed to be, clean but a little worn and weary. Furniture and appliances look like they could be from the '60s but contemporary references in the play make the action more current. That sliding sense of time works for these characters who seem stuck in their lives, unable to move forward, caught by the pull of the past.

Playwright Javon Johnson makes it clear that, to understand and come to terms with their identities, the characters must unravel their heritage. Specifically, they need to discover or accept their fathers. Bishop, who owns the shop, and Henry are childhood friends, "blood brothers," raised by Henry's grandmother. Bishop left home at age 6 and is particularly plagued by his hazy past and parentage. His confusion affects his relationship with Tyrone, a teen he's raised and who, on the edge of manhood, has his own questions about the past and his father. Bobbilee, a talented and wild teen and Tyrone's friend, is also fatherless.

Johnson does a nice job of weaving these stories together, creating subtle parallels that reveal themselves gradually. There are times, though, when it seems he's stuffed too much into the play. Race is an ever-present issue for these African-American men. In some instances, Johnson deals with it interestingly and frankly, as in Tyrone's desire to change his name and his struggle to find a better job. But when Harrison, a white man, shows up at the shop, Henry accuses him of all kinds of odd things, including a desire to kill them and harvest their organs. Suddenly, the characters' attitudes toward race are thrown off-kilter, and Henry and his friendship with the much more realistic Bishop seem much less believable. When Harrison's identity is finally revealed, it doesn't add to the play, or Johnson doesn't have time to have it add to the play. I think "Hambone" would be tighter without Harrison in it.

Another area in which Southers' company has proved itself adept is in finding talent and matching it well. You'll see familiar actors like Art Terry (Bishop), Ron Black (Henry) and Ron Maderas (Harrison). There are newer faces like Khalil Lee (Tyrone), Ruel Davis (Bobbilee) and director Garrett. The mix is what matters and the two-person scenes, Terry/Black, Lee/Davis and Terry/Lee, especially take off with emotional force.

Having not quite completed a year in their space, I'm not sure Pittsburgh Playwrights can call themselves an established company, but they've certainly established themselves as a company to watch.

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