Goodman Theatre presents TWO TRAINS RUNNING.
Martin Luther King Jr. established a dream. Bobby Kennedy spearheaded the Civil Rights Act. The 1960s civil rights movement promised change on a national level. King and Kennedy both were assassinated in 1968. The dynamic King and presidential candidate Kennedy killed in the same year was a loss to the cause. What happens when hope dies? When a movement loses its drive? Where are promises kept?
Playwright August Wilson chose to set his story in Pittsburgh’s Hills District in 1969. Despite the oppressed neighborhood, Set Designer Linda Buchanan builds a mammoth Lee’s Restaurant. Her two-three story windows look out on a street lined with rubble and buildings. The inside is a complete mid-century diner with plastic-upholstered booths, chrome tables and a juke box. We can even see passed the tiled counter into the kitchen. The size is impressive. And at first, I struggled with hearing the actors. There is a hollowness and vastness in the space. And that’s the point, this big restaurant used to be thriving and now it’s frequented by a handful of regulars. Once I settle in, I can more easily decipher the stories. Which is good because Wilson is giving us a lot of them.
Under the skillful direction of Chuck Smith, we meet these lost and colorful people. The talented cast is convincing and distinct in their portrayals of people stuck. Some back stories are verbally shared. Terry Bellamy (Memphis) sets an immediate tone by describing the demise of his business and his marriage. The seasoned Bellamy conveys despair with a shimmery darkness. His current dilemma is to sell his building to an untrustworthy mortician (played by the smarmy, glove wearing A.C. Smith) or see what the government will give him. Bellamy plays it like someone who complains that he never wins the lottery but continues to faithfully buy a weekly ticket.
He has hope as do all of Wilson’s characters. The dream is still alive in this story anchored in oppression; racial and gender. The only female character is the mesmerizing Nambi E. Kelley (Risa). Bellamy openly bullies and berates her as his employee. And Kelley nonverbally shares her backstory. She moves through the show with emotionless resolve. She walks with deliberate resignation. Her ongoing silent protest is to not bring sugar to a table until asked. Once sugar is requested, she fulfills the customer’s needs with the same unhurried cadence. Her flinty façade is self-preservation. When newcomer Chester Gregory (Sterling) breezes in following his incarceration, he brings a light-heartedness to the restaurant. Gregory playfully interacts with the patrons as if he knows them, as if he is one of them. With little encouragement, a gregarious Gregory flirts with unabashed fervor. And even after Kelley reveals a disturbing practice of hers, Gregory vows to marry her. There is a charming simplicity in the unfolding of their relationship.
Wilson’s dialogue cackles with the familiarity of a community. The fast-talking Anthony Irons (Wolf) serves as the local bookie. The comfortable Alfred Wilson (Holloway) throws out sage advice. And the hysterical Ernest Perry Jr. zings many scenes with his relentless demand, “He gonna give me my ham!”
TWO TRAINS RUNNING is a smooth ride through the aftermath of the civil rights movement. What I especially appreciated about Wilson’s story is the camaraderie of the characters and their conflict resolution. There was an opportunity to go for a more sensational outcome between a few characters. Instead, he gives them an overarching respect for each other. That choice brings a an unexpected dignity and realism to this play.
Running Time: Two hours and forty-five minutes includes an intermission
At Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn
Written by August Wilson
Directed by Chuck Smith
Wednesdays at 7:30pm
Thursdays at 2pm and 7:30pm
Fridays at 8pm
Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm
Sundays at 2pm and 7:30pm (no evening performance on April 12th)
Thru April 19th
Buy Tickets at www.GoodmanTheatre.org
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