PARADISE BLUE


A nightclub owner haunted by a lifetime of demons meets a woman who spells “trouble” with a capital T in Dominique Morisseau’s Paradise Blue, the kind of noir Hollywood could have made back in the late 1940s but didn’t, an explosive West Coast Premiere at the Geffen.

To begin with, studios back then would have cast their black-and-white movie lily white and not with the African-American fivesome who either work or reside at Detroit’s Paradise Club, where trumpet-playing owner Blue’s (Wendell B. Franklin) word is law.

And no late-‘40s screenwriter would have been able to give “spider woman” Silver (Tyla Abercrumbie) a 21st-century feminist spin that makes her infinitely more than simply a curvaceous, seductive, dangerous femme fatale, though she is most definitely all of the above.

Silver’s arrival at the Paradise, wads of cash stashed inside her already packed brassiere, provides the catalyst for Morisseau’s suspense-filed plot as Blue contemplates selling the club he inherited from his equally tormented father to a city whose incoming mayor would like nothing better than to see the predominantly African-American neighborhood gentrified, i.e. demolished so that whites could move in (as did in fact happen a decade later).

 And so a power play begins between Blue, Silver, disgruntled (but recently flush) drummer P-Sam (Alani Ilongwe), and the city of Boston for control of the Black Bottom night spot, as Spider begins casting her Louisiana voodoo spell on Blue, P-Sam, piano player Corn (John Earl Jelks), and Blue’s sweet, submissive girlfriend Pumpkin (Shayna Small).

Director Stori Ayers and a uniformly superb cast have clearly done their film noir homework, establishing from the get-go an atmosphere of danger waiting just around the corner, suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the sudden, stunning blackout that ends Morisseau’s play with a bang.

And though the Geffen has opted to entrust Paradise Blue to an out-of-town director and ensemble, most of its crackerjack design team are gratifyingly local, with major kudos shared by Edward E. Haynes, Jr.’s dazzler of a Paradise Club set and Wendell C. Carmichael’s period costumes to do any 1940s Hollywood noir proud, their designs lit with a strikingly noirish mix of light and shadows by Alan C. Edwards.

As for Jeff Gardner’s sound design, not only does one of L.A.’s finest integrate David “Preach” Balfour’s original music to perfection (in addition to featuring mood-establishing effects), Gardner had me wondering throughout, “Is Blue’s trumpet playing live or is it Memorex?”

Last but not least, thanks to fight director Steve Rankin, you can almost feel the punches landing when push comes to shove.

Nedra Constance Gallegos is intimacy coordinator. Casting is by Phyllis Schuringa, CSA. Mildred Marie Langford and Herb Newsome are understudies.

Shawna Voragen is production stage manager and Liv Scott is assistant stage manager.

Paradise Blue’s arrival twenty long months after Geffen Playhouse was forced to cancel the about-to-open Man Of God is an event worth celebrating.

A sensational follow-up to playwright Morriseau’s Arthur Milleresque Skeleton Crew (a 2018 Geffen smash), Paradise Blue is regional theater at its Broadway-caliber best.

Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood.
www.geffenplayhouse.com

–Steven Stanley
November 19, 2021
Photos: Jeff Lorch

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For the health, safety and well-being of our patrons, staff and artists, Geffen Playhouse’s current COVID-19 policy requires guests to be vaccinated and to wear masks. Upon arrival and prior to entering the building, all guests must present proof that they meet the CDC definition of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, either in the form of a physical vaccination card, a digital vaccination card, or a photo of the card. All guests over the age of 12 must present a photo ID along with their proof of vaccination. Children ages 6 to 11 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

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