Director Rome Neal and cast

                   

                                                 By R. Pikser

 

Americans are not great appreciators of satire, especially political satire.  Luckily, Ishmael Reed is still out there, showing us how ridiculous our situation is.

 

Ishmael Reed has been a critic of American society and a troublemaker for a long time.  Reading his essays can be an unsettling treat; seeing one of his plays even more so.  Life Among the Aryans is like a morality play, each personage representing not a rounded character, but a figure who illustrates a point, for the benefit of the audience, not necessarily for him- or herself. 

 

The Aryans of the title are not only white people:  They are members of a white supremacist group, trying to understand their hopeless lives and preparing to carry out the insurrection that will bring them to the dominant position in society that they regard as rightfully theirs – or at least that they hope is rightfully theirs.  They follow the directives of a smooth talking and handsome Leader who is to the right of David Duke, and who demands more and more money from them for the cause.  While the men plan their future in the company of Jack Daniels, their women pay the bills by working at low-wage jobs and selling off the last of the furniture. 

 

Mr. Reed takes things to their extremes to illustrate the ridiculous contradictions of world we live in.  We see the white men for the luckless, manipulated creatures that they are.  We see the manipulators for the con men that they are.  We see the women for the beaten down, then finally awakened creatures they are.  It is impossible not to make the connection to actual people.  For good measure, Mr. Reed throws in clueless news reporters, a doctor who turns white people black, the conversion of one of the protagonists, some history about a 1907 longshoremen’s strike and other bits of history, all accompanied by many digs at our society.  If you agree with him, the show is very funny.  If you partially agree with him, the show is funny and you will learn a few things.  If you do not agree with him, you will not be converted, but maybe you will learn something. 

 

The show does have some rough edges.  As funny as it is, it would be stronger if it were cut.  There were at least five endings where one would have done handily, the points having been made.  However, the show has multiple functions: Rome Neal, director of the Nuyorican Poets Café, is also using it to build community.  Many of the actors seem to come from the Lower East Side community, are making their stage debuts, and are clearly happy to be involved in political theater.  Their inexperience lent a certain charm to the evening, though one hopes that, as they acquire confidence, better projection and a more outrageous sense of play will result.  It was a relief when the professionals came onto the stage and spoke so that we could hear them.  Still, members of the Lower East Side community came out to support this opening night and enjoyed themselves, judging by their reactions.  Many of them stayed for the jazz, food, and socializing that made up the second part of the evening.

 

At least in part because of the radical nature of what he has to say, Mr. Reed, though the recipient of many awards, has difficulty getting his plays produced.  Life Among the Aryans is Mr. Neal’s eighth production of Mr. Reed’s plays and Mr. Neal is doing us all a favor by keeping Mr. Reed on the boards.   Community involvement and enjoyment and the expression of politics are important functions of theater.  It is good to know that there is still political theater in New York that is accessible to the public:  Nuyorican Poets Café is doing important work.   

 

Newyorican Poets Cafe

May 31^st-June 26^th

Newyorican Poets Cafe

238 East Third Street

New York, NY

Tickets $20

Thurs-Sat: 7:00 PM, Sun:  3:00 PM. 

No performance Saturday, June 16.

www.nuyorican.org

212-780-9386 (Cafe)

877-987-6487 (Ticketfly)