Convergence, A Theatrical Study of Pearl Cleage

LATE BUS TO MECCA is a startling drama and it was superbly performed in a staged reading at RACCA'S Seaport Salon Sunday evening by the two women who had brought it glowingly to life 17 years ago. Kim Yancy and Claire Dorsey were marvelous in this redux of work by Pearl Cleage, an under-appreciated giant of contemporary theater.

The Richard Allen Center for Culture and Art, founded by Hazel Bryant and sustained through the devotion and perspiration of Shirley Radcliffe and Imani, is an institutional guardian of the recent history of African American theater in New York. Between June 12 and 21, 2009, RACCA produced ten days of readings of the work of Pearl Cleage followed by discussions of the meaning and relevance of the works. I was lucky enough to attend the reading of A SONG FOR CORETTA Sunday afternoon and was entranced by the compelling stories of five fictional women who wait in the rain to view the body of Coretta Scott King as she lay in state at Ebeneezer Baptist Church.

The Convergence, a theatrical study of the work of Pearl Cleage, was produced at RAACA's Shooting Star Theater down at the tip of Manhattan at 40 Peck Slip. And if you can't feel the vibrance of the millions of people who have trod the cobblestone streets in this section of Manhattan then you are not fully awake.

Unfortunately, I missed a lot of good stuff. There were readings of MAD AT MILES, FLYIN' WEST, WHAT LOOKS LIKE CRAZY . . . , SOME THINGS I NEVER THOUGHT I'D DO, BABYLON SISTERS AND CHAIN. There were performances by: LaVonda Elam, Karen Malina White, Sharon Hope, Lynda Karen, Pauline E. Meyer, Dominique Morisseau, Dennis Pressey, and numerous others.

A question: Why, oh, why is it that cultural obeisance is offered to the work of August Wilson and little recognition is given to the theater work of Pearl Cleage? Why are the dramatic possibilities of the lives of women, most especially African American women, given such short cultural shrift? Women are useful as eye candy, but are otherwise of no interest on stage? Should we let one man's vision of African Americans in the twentieth century dominate the cultural landscape?

The sliver of hope in both A SONG FOR CORETTA and LATE BUS TO MECCA is that the characters in each leave the stage together -- willing to face what comes together.

The evening concluded with a brief discussion of the characters and literary work of Pearl Cleage. The author was unable to attend these programs, but sent her regards via a letter. We also listened to a radio interview with the author.

I had dinner between shows at The PARIS TAVERN at 119 South St. It is a comfortable spot with good food and a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. It is said to have been at the spot since 1873 -- yikes!