Adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry
Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn
Tickets: (312) 443-3800
Through April 18, 2004
Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry’s book Crowns told the story of the love affair African-American women have for the “Sunday ritual of the hat,” their ability to be creative and expressive for at least one day out of the week. The stage version, adapted and directed by Regina Taylor, is a high energy affair, but one that has an identity crisis.
Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry put together the book Crowns as a celebration of African-American women, the hats they wear, how they feel about them and how the hats make them feel. Crowns is certainly good fodder for dramatic material. All the entries are written if first person, and the women featured in the book are certainly of diverse backgrounds.
Bear in mind that Crowns is probably one of the most joyous pieces of theatre you may ever see. Any play that spends that much time in church can’t help that. But the major problem with Crowns is the mixture of its message. Crowns opens in Brooklyn, NY with Yolanda (Desiré Dubose), a confused and angry teenager dealing with the death of her brother. To get her in touch with her heritage, Yolanda’s mother sends her to South Carolina to live with her grandmother, Mother Shaw (Tina Fabrique), who immediately brings her to church to assimilate Yolanda with her culture. The rest of the play is a mixture of Gospel music and monologues from a variety of women about their lives, their faith, and of course, their hats. Gail Grate, Karan Kendrick, Barbara D. Mills and Bernardine Mitchell make up the rest of the women. John Steven Crowley plays all the male roles.
For all of the joy, you still have the feeling something’s missing. It’s not that the stories aren’t interesting. It’s not that the music isn’t stirring. It’s certainly not that the actors aren’t wonderful. What is missing from Crowns is Yolanda’s story. We meet her in the beginning, and see her transported into a different world down south. Her story then seems to disappear. Ms. Taylor says she wrote Crowns out of “a deep sense of recognition – a sense of where I came from, a sense of the women who helped raise me.” That is all very clear in this show, but Yolanda’s journey seems tacked on. When it comes to Yolanda, you get a sense of “oh, yeah, I forgot about her” every once in a while.
Mention must be made of the hats, which are a centerpiece of the show. Emilio Sosa, who had less than three months to design and build the numerous hats for the original production, has created a series of unique hats that make a statement all by themselves. Ricardo Hernandez’s flexible set does what it should – it gives the actors a place to play, and it showcases dozens of beautiful hats, all of which tell a different story.
For all of its problems, however, I’d be hard pressed to not recommend Crowns, a lesson in African-American life and celebrations. And you can’t ignore the fact that the audience leapt to their feet at the end.
