Theater review: ‘Memoirs’ at Stage 52 Theater
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‘I’m not ashamed of who I am,’ claims Julian, the heroin-addicted Vietnam War veteran whose downward spiral drives Paul Benjamin’s ‘Memoirs’ at Stage 52 Theater. ‘It’s who I was made into.’
Victim of circumstance or not, Julian still has a lot to answer for as he faces a final struggle to kick his habit. It’s a dramatic odyssey that demands and gets fierce physical and emotional commitment from lead actor Kevin Jackson, despite some lapses in a script that still needs work.
Set in 1975 Harlem, writer/director Benjamin’s tense, downbeat one-act gets right to the point, opening with Julian shooting up with the reluctant help of his wife (quietly understated Tanya Lane). It’s not the worst of the indignities he’s forced on her, which has brought their marriage to the breaking point. When she leaves him, winning her back is the overriding need that finally induces Julian to get clean.
Structurally, Benjamin’s morality tale relies heavily on the tropes of ‘chitlin circuit’ melodrama familiar to urban black audiences. The unfolding scenes chart a predictable course. No nuance or subtlety here --Julian’s story is sketched in broad strokes of good and evil as he faces temptations from without and within.
After his wife’s departure, we witness the deterioration of Julian’s best friend and doomed fellow junkie, Mickey (Javon Johnson), leading to a pivotal confrontation when Julian’s pusher, Tutu (Felton Perry) comes by to collect Julian’s unpaid debts.
Within this traditional narrative formula, some of Benjamin’s dialogue innovates with the urgency and streetwise eloquence of contemporary hip hop -- particularly in Mickey’s unraveling and Julian’s eulogy for him.
As the Mephistophelean Tutu, Perry unfortunately coasts on natural charisma, never finding enough internal depth and complexity to sell the character’s abrupt change from opponent to ally.
The story’s internal coherence founders badly on contradiction and ambiguity. For example, Julian is a former horn player who blames the Army for turning him into a junkie, yet reminiscences with Tutu about getting high together after club gigs. The finale’s sermonizing call for unity may tap implicit chords of understanding in its target audience, but its present-day references violate all sense of time and place.
-- Philip Brandes
‘Memoirs,’ Stage 52 Theater, 5299 Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Ends Nov. 22. $25. (323) 960-5521 or www.plays411.com/memoirs. Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.