Sunday, July 27, 2008
A+E, Theater, Reviews

Sister act

Denise Burse turns in praiseworthy performance in ‘Amen Corner’

Tom Meyer
Marguerite Hannah and Denise Burse in “The Amen Corner”

“THE AMEN CORNER”
True Colors Theatre Company
The Alliance Theatre
404-733-5000
www.truecolorstheatrecompany.com
Through Aug. 3

BY BERT OSBORNE

Bid actress Denise Burse the hearty "welcome home!" that her soulful performance in "The Amen Corner" deserves—by doing yourself a favor and not missing it. Before she left in the mid-’90s to establish herself on Broadway and the regional theater scene (to say nothing of her current role on "Tyler Perry’s House of Payne"), the Atlanta native and Spelman alum started her career right here (in the Alliance’s "The Piano Lesson" and "Seven Guitars"). However many years or "Law & Order" episodes later, Burse returns with a consummate passion that empowers director Andrea Frye’s occasionally stagnant True Colors staging of James Baldwin’s classic ’50s drama.
 
Burse portrays Sister Margaret, the minister of a Harlem storefront church who falls from grace in the eyes of her congregation. Is she an "anointed" spiritual leader, or only human? She can preach a righteous sermon about setting houses in order and letting the trouble come, and yet when she’s eventually faced with domestic conflicts involving her rebellious son or the hard-living husband and father who left them years earlier, she loses sight of that cardinal distinction between being in the world and being of it. A few disgruntled parishioners—"forgetting their salvation"—seize the opportunity to question Sister Margaret’s calling and to oust her from the pulpit.
 
Based on the opening-night show, Burse’s early church scenes lack a certain evangelical fervor—decrying the evils of jazz music, newspaper comics or driving a beer truck—but she amply compensates in the highly emotional scenes to follow at home, which are fairly galvanizing in the way Burse conveys the struggle between Margaret’s heavenly faith and earthly yearnings. That the character is flawed, more than just a one-note paragon of virtue, leaves room for speculation about whether she’s genuinely "moved by the spirit" or simply "putting herself above the congregation"—until Baldwin tips the scales by reducing her usurpers to stock antagonists.
 
Even so, the three of them are expertly played by Margo Moorer, Chandra Currelley and Erik Kilpatrick, and there are other noteworthy contributions from Marguerite Hannah (as Margaret’s understanding sister) and Nevaina Rhodes (as a grieving, misguided young mother). Under the music direction of J. Michael (leading a three-piece band), a number of uplifting gospel interludes feature a large choir (and a couple of solos by the venerable Bernardine Mitchell).
 
In his own comeback of sorts, Frye casts another former Atlanta veteran as the wayward husband Luke: Thomas Byrd (the Alliance’s "Two Trains Running," etc.), who has gone on to a Tony nomination (for "Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom") and parts in several Spike Lee joints. Regrettably, however, he proves an enervating presence—and not merely because he’s basically playing a two-hour death scene. Whether it’s an acting choice or a directorial indulgence, his performance is lethargic and tedious, interrupting the story as much as propelling it.
 
More of the moment than in it, you might say, Byrd hardly validates the dramatic changes Luke inspires in his wife and son (Ronve O’Daniel). The play becomes more about his dying than about the impact of his death on them (or us, for that matter). With barely a trace from him of the "carnal grin" that presumably stirs Margaret’s repressed sexuality, there’s all the more reason to celebrate the extraordinary dimension Burse brings to her role. Amen, indeed. SP
 

DULY NOTED

 
If you didn’t get enough of all that ring repartee in "Merchant of Venice," consider Georgia Shakespeare’s concurrent "All’s Well That Ends Well" an encore. It’s another of the Bard’s interchangeable romances, with some nice touches from director Dan McCleary (and choreographer Susannah Millonzi): e.g., cast members introduce themselves and their characters, and then sit around the stage watching the story unfold. Brad Sherrill’s wicked braggart is a particular treat. Through Aug. 3. 404-264-0020. www.gashakespeare.org.