(Manhattan, New York) “Drowning Crow,” written by Regina Taylor is a modern day adaptation of “The Seagull” by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Taylor transports the Chekhov play from the Russian countryside of the late 19th century to the culturally rich Gullah Islands off the coast of South Carolina in 2004.
Although some critics in their reviews of “Drowning Crow” have not always been kind, this was still a play definitely worthy of seeing. I applaud Taylor for taking this legendary and timeless work and presenting it to us from a black perspective.
Drowning Crow, starring Anthony Mackie and Alfre Woodard, opens the first scene with some dazzling visual effects. Stunning video projections by Wendall K. Harrington captures your imagination and holds your attention immediately.
A translucent screen is lowered over the front of the stage and words are typed across it while Mackie’s character, Constantine Trip (a.k.a. C-Trip), is shown behind the screen lying on a low platform as two male dancers move around him. Suddenly, C-Trip’s face is projected onto the screen in a thumbnail type square holding a gun to his head about to pull the trigger. Everything fades to black and a gunshot is heard almost jolting you out of your seat and from this intense scene we are moved into the action of the first act. What a great opening.
C-Trip is an aspiring but tormented playwright and performance artist disparately seeking the approval, attention and love of his mother, the famous actress Josephine Nicholas Ark (Alfre Woodard). Josephine has just come to visit the family plantation with her younger boyfriend and C-Trip is preparing a performance of his new play to impress her. He wants his mother to love the play but fears she will not.
Flamboyant as her namesake, Josephine Baker, Josephine Ark is so self-absorbed that nothing really impresses her except perhaps her boyfriend Robert Alexander Trigor (Peter Francis James), who was once a promising novelist but compromised his art for fame and fortune as a sitcom writer for UPN television.
As C-Trip is preparing for his play, before his mother and other guest arrive (friends of the family), he talks to his uncle Peter Nicholas (Paul Bulter) about new forms in theatre, denouncing the old ones his mother favors while speaking of his love for the preacher’s daughter Hannah Jordan (Aunjanue Ellis) in the same breath. Hannah is a very young and naive aspiring actress who will perform in C-Trip’s play tonight and betray him by falling madly in love with Josephine’s boyfriend Trigor. However, the ultimate betrayal comes when his mother makes fun of his play in front of his friends.
Now the tragedy of “Drowning Crow” comes to life as you start to see C-Trip, who eventually becomes famous, struggle to find his artistic wings while the people he loves the most – Josephine and Hannah- brutally disappoint him.
His relationship with his mother is ironically mirrored in his hopeless and obsessive love for Hannah who is so blinded by her desire to be with Trigor that she becomes cruelly unaware of her insensitivity to C-Trip. Once again – a woman self-absorbed.
As the play unfolds you discover “a human carousel” of unrequited lovers among the characters. Josephine loves Trigor, C-Trip loves Hannah, Hannah loves Trigor, Trigor loves Josephine, the plantation caretaker’s daughter Mary Bow (Tracie Thoms) loves C-Trip and Simon (Curtis McClarin) the teacher loves Mary Bow and the caretaker’s wife Paula Bow (Stephanie Berry) loves the local Doctor, Eugene Dawn (Roger Robinson) who seems to be curiously fascinated by Josephine.
“Drowning Crow” appears to be a series of contrasts like the contrast of old and new- Hip-Hop/spoken word performances vs. classic theatre performances, the older writer, Trigor, who sales his soul for fame but is unfulfilled, writes about life as it is vs. C- Trip, the younger writer, who passionately follows his art but is insecure and tortured, writes “life as we see it in our dreams”….not real.
There is a scene in “Crow” where C-Trip brings Hannah a dead crow he shoots to keep it from drowning and presents it to her as a symbol of his unrequited love. How ironic. Hannah, horrified, does not understand the logic of this. It seems that C-Trip would rather be dead than to drown in a sea of unfulfilled love.
The play takes place over a course of three years. In that time Hannah has moved to New York City pursuing an unsuccessful acting career and chasing after Trigor who seduces her and then discords her. Mary Bow marries Simon and Uncle Peter is dying. C-Trip is eternally misunderstood as a writer for his complexity and darkness even at the height of his success.
Another one of the highlights in this play was the creative set design by David Gallo.
In the final scene C-Trip is in his writing studio/study at the plantation house. The study is painted all black with the stark contrast of white graffiti - it almost looks like a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting, very striking.
Because Peter is dying, Josephine and Trigor come back to the plantation for a visit. C-Trip is alone in the study (Tupac music playing in the background) and Hannah appears at the outside glass door. He is so happy and overwhelmed to see her after all this time. She tells him of her trials in New York City and how hard it has been for her. You can see that she’s hardened, changed from that innocent girl he once knew. In her ravings she keeps repeating that she is “The Crow”(a victim of mindless destruction). In spite of everything she’s been through, she tells him she still loves Trigor. This is the fatal blow for C-Trip.
Once before he tried to kill himself (grazed his head with a bullet) when he and his mother first caught Hannah and Trigor flirting. This time the blow to him is too great and when Hannah finally leaves, he ventures out onto the plantation and ends his misery. He could not relinquish his ideal world of dreams in favor of living a life without illusion.
Although this scene is tragic, the audience laughed at C-Trips tears, perhaps because of the way it was played. (C-Trip was forever crying). Chekhov’s play had a strange blend of tragedy and comedy. I’m not sure that “Drowning Crow” achieved that balance in the same way. When I read the Chekhov play it was easy to follow but “Drowning Crow” on the other hand was not always, and at times seemed to be confusing.
However, I did enjoyed the play. The cast was stellar and the lighting (Ken Billington), set design and video presentation were outstanding.
CAST: Anthony Mackie (C-Trip), Alfre Woodard ( Josephine Nicholas Ark), Aunjanue Ellis (Hannah Jordan), Peter Francis James(Robert Alexander Trigor), Stephanie Berry (Paula Bow), Paul Butler (Peter Nicholas), Stephen Mckinley Henderson (Sammy Bow), Ebony Jo-Ann (Ebony), Peter Macon (Yak) Curtis Mclarin (Simon) Roger Robinson (Eugene Dawn) Tracie Thoms (Mary Bow) Baron Vaughn ( Okra). Playwright: Regina Taylor, Director: Marion McClinton. Set Design: David Gallo, Video Design: Wendall K. Harrington, Lighting Design: Ken Billington and Sound Design: Dan Moses Schreier.
The Manhattan Theatre Club, in the newly renovated Biltmore Theatre, presented “Drowning Crow” as part of their new season.
Other source: New York Times
Dianne Quander is a New York based writer. You can contact her at dqmusic7@aol.com
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