By Carol Davis
SAN DIEGO — Opening night at the 10th Avenue Theatre in downtown San Diego where Mo’Olelo Performing Arts Company is mounting Lydia R. Diamond’s Stick Fly was packed to capacity. Everyone was anxious to hear about the rich LeVay’s of Martha’s Vineyard.
Diamond’s LeVay family drama is quite intriguing and thought provoking as well as funny on many levels. If you’ve ever been to ‘The Vineyard’ you know that one rarely sees people of color who actually live and own property in that little corner of the world. That’s not to say that in the scheme of things, African Americans did not live there.
History tells us that one of the most documented landmarks on Martha’s Vineyard is the home of one of the first African American sea captains in American history, William A. Martin. “He was the great grandson of an enslaved woman from Guinea in Africa” www.MVHeritageTrail.org
So when patriarch Joe LeVay (Hassan El-Amin) who is a successful neurosurgeon and head of his household and who has been coming to his vacation home for the past 40 years, and has put hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations into a house that was given to his wife’s family, and in spite of it all has never really been accepted into the community, he almost dares us to challenge his little indiscretions.
His offspring Flip (Matt Orduña) or the Golden Boy Son is a plastic surgeon who, like his father is a ladies man, and son Kent (Anthony Hawks Woods) is a budding novelist, who has never measured up to expectations, much to his father’s chagrin and harassing. When we catch up with them, they are bringing their respective girlfriends home for the weekend to meet ‘the parents’.
What we all get is a huge dose of family dysfunction with another large dose of intellectual oneupsmanship and a lesson in race relations from both of the girlfriends, Taylor (Lorene Chelsey) an entomologist (who came with a small treasure trove of flies in glass jars,) and feminine advocate who cries for the attention she never got from her famous father and Kimber (Elizabeth M. Kelly) a professor of social work who is white, rich and privileged and whose specialty is race dynamics. She works with inner city kids and is ready to do due battle with Taylor every chance she gets. Add that to some sibling rivalry, surprise revelations and voilà it’s live reality TV.
One more thing, Cheryl (Diona Reasoner) the LeVay’s housekeeper’s 18-year-old daughter who is filling in for her mother this weekend is pivotal to this whole drama. Reasoner is a formidable force to be reckoned with. She is one big burst of energy and sooner rather than later turns this family unit upside down but in the meantime, she is a control freak with anything to do with the kitchen, food, laundry or any other household chores. After a series of phone calls from her ill mother and the absence of the mother of the LeVay clan, the super sleuth in me began to look for clues to figure out the mystery of this family saga.
Most of the characters in Diamond’s little family comedy/ drama are upper crust cuts typically defined by the schools they attended, the cars they drive, the art they collect and the clothes they wear. Kimber seems to be on terra firma with herself but the rest are, in one way or another, looking to fit in. The brothers have secrets not only from each other while their father has a giant one from his sons. This takes this little weekend drama down a winding path loaded with land mines.
Blessed with a super talented ensemble director Robert Barry Fleming and his crew make even the most trivial of the game ‘Trivial Pursuit’ (games people play) seem like the real thing. It all happens one night after dinner and good wine has gone to the heads of those playing the game. Matters go from good old competition to a down and out shouting match much like many of us might see in our own living rooms.
Hassan El-Amin is a strong force as the patriarch of the LeVay family. He’s as tough as nails when he’s going after Kent for not ‘making something of himself’, yet charming with the women. Anthony Hawkins Woods is steady and gentle as the younger son, Kent who has finally come into his own. Matt Orduña is solid, convincing and somewhat of a self-assured snob as Flip. Lorene Chesley’s characterization of Taylor’s anger and angst is spot on, and Elizabeth M. Kelly’s Kimber brings a wonderful and steady balance to the whole.
Set on David F. Weiner’s spacious and accurate two- story Victorian Cape Cod cottage with well-appointed living room, well-stocked kitchen area and front porch area, Fleming has lots of room to create perfect stage pictures while the players throw barbs and at some point a few punches at one another. Jason Bieber’s lighting design, Ingrid Helton’s costumes, Joe Huppert and George Ye’s fight choreography complete the look and feel of this fine and entertaining production.
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Feb. 24th –March 20th
Organization: Mo’Olelo Performing Arts Company
Phone: 619-342-7395
Production Type: Comedy/Drama
Where: 930 10th Avenue, San Diego92101
Ticket Prices: $22.00-$27.00
Web: moolelo.net
Venue: The 10th Avenue Theatre
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Davis is a San Diego-based theatre critic. She may be contacted at carol.davis@sdjewishworld.com