Director Bill Fennelly’s lavish and lively production threw political correctness to the wind as the slaves demonstrate the ridiculousness of the stereotypes by playing them to the hilt. The show starts in a vaudeville theatre where a big, patriotic send-up starts with the audience being led in the singing of The Star-Spangled Banner followed by a minstrel show (white actors in blackface), a brief appearance by Amos and Andy, song-and-dance routines featuring Shirley Temple (Colette Beauvais) and her black, grandfatherly-like co-star, and the singing of gospel songs and songs of the South like I Wish I Was in Dixie. But that’s when Uncle Tom (Owiso Odera) and the other slaves crash the vaudeville party and sit Harriet down for her trial to determine whether or not she portrayed the slaves properly and whether her book has proved good or bad for African-Americans as a whole. As part of the trial, Uncle Tom, his niece Eliza, her husband George, and the other slaves re-create their roles, but with some changes here and there to show Harriet how they would have liked to be portrayed differently.

What follows is a unique blend of outrageous melodrama, laugh-out-loud humor often tinged with poignancy, a rap concert led by the young and not-so-submissive slave Topsy (Quonta Beasley), sad and painful glimpses at the easy racism that existed from the 1840s through today from insensitive offhanded remarks to repulsive jokes, and disturbing scenes including the monstrous slave owner Legree and pictures and video from the Civil Rights movement made more than a century later.

A talented and enthusiastic cast keeps the energy, humor, and tension high throughout. Teri Kretz and Abdul-Khaliq Murtadha are hilarious as the completely melodramatic Eliza and George who despair at their fate, but become more serious as their struggle becomes for more than themselves. Colette Beauvais is a hoot as Little Eva, the spoiled young daughter of kind slave owner St. Claire (Brian Slaten), who is given Uncle Tom as her personal servant and comes to truly care for someone for the first time in her short life. Quonta Beasley as rap star Topsy is filled with rebellion controlled just enough to be pragmatic and wait impatiently for her chance to be free. Makela Spielman is both the harried Harriet and the sanctimonious, sometimes hypocritical, but eventually good Miss Ophelia who takes Topsy under her virtuous wing. Samuel Stricklen is a riot in a variety of little character roles – everything from Sambo to obnoxious Jane. Carmen Gill as Cassy and the sleazy Legree (Bradley Fleischer) combine for one of the most powerful scenes as Legree demonstrates his complete dominance over the sweet slave Cassy who, in this version, finally has the opportunity to exact some revenge. It is all led by Owiso Odera as the sometimes eager-to-please Uncle Tom with the wide grin that could convince the world that he is happy if they didn’t already know it was killing him inside, choosing to play his cards carefully with the bad hand dealt him until he gets dealt to the evil Legree, forcing him to choose acquiescence or revenge, and to choose between changing his future by surviving or changing the future by dying.

From the incredible sets (Kevin Judge), to the vaudevillian costumes (Raquel Barreto), to the good use of video (Jason Thompson) showing racism and achievements through the ages, to the props, choreography (grace shinhae jun and Lesa Green-Williams), lighting (Patricia Nichols), sound (Stephanie Robinson), and, especially, a hilarious puppet who plays the part of Eliza and George’s little boy (a puppet very adept at playing ball), Bill Fennelly’s production had every aspect of production working at a heightened level that brought out all the story’s humor and power.

Rob Hopper
National Arts Digest