Illinois Theatre Center’s “Flyin’ West,” set in the all-black town of Nicodemus, Kan., in 1898, tracks the rocky road from slavery to freedom in the years following the Homestead Act of 1860. This government initiative offered “free” land out West to American citizens willing to work the harsh terrain and establish self-sufficient communities.
Waves of African-Americans settled in the Western states to escape the brutalities of the South. Yet even though they created vibrant towns, these intrepid homesteaders were subjected to more insidious injustices — from speculators looking to buy the settler’s land at rock-bottom prices for a proposed railroad project that never got under way.
It is within this wearily hopeful context that Pearl Cleage places the mainly female homesteaders of her drama. Sophie, the brazen, unmarried protagonist, is determined to expand her ranch and help build churches and schools in Nicodemus. Her plans are threatened when her youngest sister, Minnie, arrives for a visit with her abusive poet-husband, Frank Charles (a mulatto), from London. The self-loathing Frank grows to despise the black community. When he’s disinherited by his white half-brothers, he tries to cut a deal with speculators intent on taking away Sophie’s land.
A subplot involves Sophie’s dreamy-eyed sister Fannie and her romance with the saintly Wil Parish. Presiding with feisty wisdom over the action is Miss Leah, an elderly former slave.
But what sounds like an illuminating story quickly collapses into grating melodrama. Frank, whose struggle with his mixed identity is a crucial story to explore, is treated like a mustache-twirling villain by both playwright and director Paulette McDaniels. He’s an oily snob who drinks too much and beats his wife, and is especially odious in Phillip Sanchez’s grimacingly one-dimensional portrayal. The reasons for his inner turmoil are not examined, and it’s telling that it’s easier for the playwright to have the characters plot to kill him, rather than to explore the circumstances leading to his torment.
James Meredith, an actor of profoundly moving honesty, is under-used in the nobly steadfast role of Wil. McDaniels delivers the most textured and inspiring performance as Miss Leah. But she does not elicit urgent performances from most of her cast. Besides stumbling over her lines, Alma Washington fails to evoke Sophie’s indomitable resolution. As Minnie, Emilie Byron comes across as flighty, and Shelia-Marie Robinson’s Fannie does not make the transition from reading lines to creating a viable character.
Sadly, the writer chose to create extreme character types rather than believable human beings. ITC’s plodding production fails to make these brave souls’ struggles and triumphs palpable.
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“Flyin’ West”
When: Through March 4
Where: Illinois Theatre Center, 371 Artists’ Walk (off Indianwood Boulevard), Park Forest
Phone: 708-481-3510
