‘Clybourne’ a stellar mix of comedy, drama
Glancing through a list of recent Pulitzer Prizewinning plays is proof that dramedy has become the dominant mode in American theater. “August: Osage County,” “Water by the Spoonful,” “Rabbit Hole” and even the rock musical “Next to Normal” all brought a healthy dose of humor to stories of potent pathos.
But none of those alloyed laughter and tears with the fearless ferocity of the 2011 winner, Bruce Norris’ “Clybourne Park.” A dexterous dissection of race relations in America across a halfcentury divide, it is a work of elegant symmetry and fractal complexity. And in Arizona Theatre Company’s season finale, it is one of the most entertaining productions the Valley has seen in years.
The first act takes place in 1959, where Russ and Bev Stoller (Lee E. Ernst and Jenny McKnight) are packing to move out of their modest home near downtown Chicago. Amid deceptively mundane banter, a trio of neighbors invades the living room. One of them is Karl Lindner (Gerard Neugent), a character plucked from Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” It’s just hours after his scene in that groundbreaking drama, and, having failed in his attempt to bribe the “col- aisles and squirming in their seats.
The play has been described as an examination of “the intersection of race and real estate,” but it also explores the meaning of community on both the personal and the global scale, which the playwright subtly hints at with bits of small talk about geographical trivia. And although the two acts are as different in tone as the times they are set in, they are also ingeniously knitted together.
The version of “Clybourne Park” now onstage at Phoenix’s Herberger Theater Center is a co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater, which has supplied the creative team and most of the cast. And it is superb.
Under the direction of Mark Clements, the actors concoct a satisfying blend of naturalistic drama and satirical comedy. Most striking is the contrast in performances between the two acts. Gobel, for instance, transitions from circumspect domestic worker to outspoken activist, while McKnight goes from housebroken housewife to gabby lawyer. This show is truly an actor’s playground, and the entire cast makes the most of the opportunity.
Speaking of transitions, if your bladder allows, stick around inside the theater during intermission. The exten- sive scene change, complete with costumed crew and time-traveling soundtrack, is a show in itself.