Lonne Elder III’s ‘Ceremonies in Dark Old Men,’ First Presented in 1969 by the Negro Ensemble Company, Gets an Off-Broadway Revival

In the new off-Broadway revival of Lonne Elder III’s “Ceremonies in Dark Old Men,” we meet Russell Parker, a former vaudeville dancer and widower in his 50s who lives with his three grown children above a barber shop. The shop is ostensibly Russell’s business, but in truth he spends most of his time playing checkers with a friend. “I can’t work,” he admits during a game. “I don’t know how to!”This is, in essence, the tragedy of Elder’s play, first presented in 1969 by the Negro Ensemble Company, also one of the lead producers of this new production. Only one member of Russell’s household is gainfully employed: his daughter, Adele, who dropped out of college while her late mother, who had been supporting the family, was ailing.Now approaching 30, Adele is understandably resentful about having to take care of her father and brothers, Theo and Bobby, who appear to have inherited their dad’s dilemma. That’s until a shady local figure who calls himself Blue Haven enters their lives, with a get-rich-quick scheme that seems too good to be true — and is.Through the Parkers, Elder — who acted in the original Broadway production of “A Raisin in the Sun” before earning acclaim with “Ceremonies,” and later became an Oscar-nominated screenwriter — surveys the bitter fruits of disenfranchisement as they fester in mid-20th century Harlem. A veteran director whose credits include August Wilson classics and other works by noted Black artists, Clinton Turner Davis, and his supple actors mine the play’s bracing naturalism.The cast is led by Norm Lewis, a Broadway favorite whose mighty voice and presence have landed him leading roles in musicals such as “The Phantom of the Opera” and a 2012 revival of “Porgy and Bess.” As Russell, a broken song-and-dance man, Mr. Lewis adopts a heavy, halting gait, while using his natural warmth and charm to initially endear himself to the audience.Bryce Wood and Calvin M. Thompson in ‘Ceremonies in Dark Old Men.’ Maria BaranovaRussell becomes harder to love in the second act, as he begins squandering profits made through Theo’s work for Blue, arrogantly asserting his entitlement as head of their household. Even here, though, Mr. Lewis makes his character’s vulnerability tangible, eliciting our pity in scenes where Russell is obviously exploited by others.Blue, the play’s savviest exploiter, is given vivid life by Calvin M. Thompson. A model of slick poise in his natty suit and cane — Isabel Rubio provides the sturdy, authentic costumes — Blue grows increasingly menacing without ever really losing his cool; Mr. Thompson sustains this balance expertly, so that by Act Two his slightest gesture can be chilling.Bryce Michael Wood proves equally resourceful and affecting as Theo, who comes across at first as something of an overgrown brat, particularly when interacting with Adele, who is played with brisk authority and understated tenderness by Morgan Siobhan Green. “Why don’t you get married or something? We don’t need you,” Theo tells his sister, when confronted about his idleness.Theo later insists to his father, “I have never been lazy — I just didn’t wanta break my back for the man!” Blue is able to prey on this disaffection by regaling both Russell and Theo with promises to “drive ‘Mr. You Know Who’ out of Harlem,” referring to the white men who profit as their community remains impoverished.The crooked and ultimately violent path offered by Blue does not provide a viable alternative, though. When Adele chides Theo for putting their dad at risk, he responds, “This whole place was built for him to die in — so you bite, you scratch, you kick — you do anything to stay alive!” Adele counters: “Yes, you bite! You scratch, you steal, you kick and you GET KILLED ANYWAY!”By the end of “Ceremonies,” the two siblings are finally approaching a sort of truce; by then, unfortunately, it’s too late to avoid a devastating consequence — one that, in this fine production, surely stings as much as it did more than 55 years ago.

Lonne Elder III’s ‘Ceremonies in Dark Old Men,’ First Presented in 1969 by the Negro Ensemble Company, Gets an Off-Broadway Revival

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