Stage Review - Trouble in Mind (Centerstage Theatre)
Stage Review - Trouble in Mind
Presented By: Centerstage Theatre - Federal Way, WA
Show Run: March 28 - April 20, 2025
Date Reviewed: Friday, March 28, 2025 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes (including a 15 minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
The latest on stage in Federal Way, and presented by Centerstage Theatre, is the Alice Childress classic Trouble in Mind. Originally premiering in 1955 off-Broadway, a transfer to the Great White Way was planned, but quickly canceled when the playwright refused to acquiesce to requests to “tone down” the ending of the play to make white audiences more comfortable. The theatre in which it debuted was one of the only in New York at the time to allow integrated casts, and Childress, who directed the original production, was granted a spot in the Greenwich Mews schedule when her friend and collaborator Clarice Taylor identified an opening and worked with the theatre’s producer, who encouraged works from people of color, to get it on stage. But when a new producer entered the scene, and asked for rewrites in exchange for “permission” to keep the show going, Alice went along, and then again, and again, but ultimately made the decision to stop making changes when she barely recognized her own play. As a result of her refusal to sacrifice her underlying artistic principles, Trouble in Mind, which deals with the subjects of racism and sexism in the American theatre and in a changing mid-20th Century society, didn’t see the light of the Broadway stage until 2021. Alice Childress’ decisions around her initial rewrites, and then her subsequent choice to stop, has been the topic of many conversations over the years, and are similar to many that playwrights have had to wrestle with when trying to balance their messaging and getting that message out to the public. This subject could be a play unto itself, and would be a pretty interesting one for sure. But, for now, we have Trouble in Mind, and its layered story of six actors with differing attitudes and experiences coming together under the auspices of a controversial director to put together a racially charged, ostensibly anti-lynching play set in the American South, on stage through April 20 in Federal Way in production directed by Michelle Blackmon.
The six actors that are brought together range from the experienced, Willetta Mayer and Sheldon Forrester, to the young, John Nevins and Judy Sears, and to those somewhere in the middle as far as experience goes, Millie Davis and Bill O’Wray. Willetta, played by Sonia Alexis here, is the main protagonist of the story. She comes with an experience, not just on stage, but in dealing with “the man”, white producers and directors, like Al Manners (Jacob Tice), the director of “Chaos in Belleville”, Childress’ play within a play. Willetta begins the play by providing advice to newcomer Nevins, played by Hebron Solomon, who is an idealistic young actor, and who, contrary to what the elder Willetta is telling him, doesn’t believe that he has to play any games to get ahead, that his ability should stand on its own. What they find with Jacob’s Manners, though, is that neither of them are exactly right, and neither are entirely wrong. Jacob’s portrayal of the condescending white director is extremely good, he’s patronizing to both, buttering them up when he can, which Hebron’s Nevins eats up, but Willetta can only takes so much of before she demands to be heard. And when she does, that’s when Sonia’s work here stands out. Her acting is extremely good, the buildup of her frustration is palpable, the presentation of her frustration is very well done, and it’s tinged with a sort of melancholy that hints at the sadness she feels at a changing world, both on stage and off. Hebron’s idealistic turn as John Nevins is just as good, and while Sonia, as Willetta, isn’t afraid to stir up a little trouble, the opposite is surely true of John, after all, he’s just starting out, and as far as he can tell, at least from what Jacob’s Manners keeps telling him, the young actor’s future is extremely bright.
Somewhat akin to Hebron’s portrayal of John Nevins is Kaira Hensler’s as Judy Sears, a white well-to-do actress and recent university graduate making her debut with “Chaos”. Judy is a sponge, taking this new experience in and surely not wanting to make any waves, but she’s also not very good, Judy that is, not Kaira. Kaira is very good. In what is a role that provides a bit of comic relief in a a play that skew heavy at times, Kaira’s Judy’s over-dramatic acting is quite funny. I also mention Judy and John together as their friendship creates a bit of stress among the older, more experienced actors who think that the black actors and white actors should each stay in their respective lanes. Another mostly humorous character is Sheldon Forrester, the non-confrontational, extremely agreeable African American actor who just wants to keep his head down and do whatever the director asks him to, regardless of what it is, or what the implication is. Melvin Rouse in this role is one of my favorites in the cast, his delivery is wonderful, his sense of humor just about perfect, and his ability to switch gears and deliver what is the most heart wrenching monologue of the play, one depicting his character’s first hand experience with racism in his youth, in graphic detail. The humor in his character makes this part hit that much harder, and Melvin’s delivery is stellar. W. Scott Pinkston plays an important role here as well, as Bill O’Wray, the nervous, but experienced white actor, who is so unsure of himself, so afraid of offending someone that it prevents him from putting himself out there among his castmates. That said, in a play that presents the racism of its time, the character that W. Scott plays is paramount to the messaging, and his opening monologue, a speech in his character’s voice in the play within a play is paramount to setting up what is a highly charged second act.
It’s the second act that is where most of the emotion of the play comes to a head, whether it’s that recounting of Sheldon’s childhood traumatic experience, Willetta’s standing up to Al Manners and his constant placation and ignorance of her voice as an individual, Millie Davis, who is played so well by Whitney Crawford, and her continued sarcasm and angst at the discrimination against her as a result of her race, or Al’s dissertation about how difficult it has been for him as a white male. As a side note on Jacob’s performance, his second act tirade from his characters’ arguably misguided perspective is very charged, and so despicable, especially by toda'y’s standards, kudos to him for putting it out there. These are each superbly delivered individual performances, and while they carry the messaging very well, I feel that this production is missing two things that could make it even better. First off, there’s an intimacy that’s missing. Burton Yuen’s set is nicely appointed, it does resemble a theatre space on which the play within the play could be workshopped, but it’s also spread out a bit on the stage at the Knutzen Family Theatre, which means that there’s distance between the actors. In this case, the distance between them makes the play feel less intimate, less emotional than it could be otherwise, and with it the second thing that I feel is missing, the connection in the inter-character relationships. To me, this is one of those rare instances in which the individuals are stronger apart than they are together. I do believe these two are related, but it manifests in relationships that don’t seem as deep or meaningful as they should be to make this as good as Alice Childress intended.
And while the ensemble may not be as strong together as I would have liked to see, the individual performances are enough to carry the story and the underlying messaging of the show, and this applies the supporting group as well, which includes Gregory Michaels as Henry, the Irish doorman who seems to be Willetta’s only ally, and Mathaeus Andersen as stage manager Eddie Fenton. As with each of the characteristics of the other actors, these characters are imperative to the storytelling, even if they don’t have as much stage time as the others.
Trouble in Mind, the 1955 play from Alice Childress, presents a snapshot in time, one of change in the theatre community. The story of six actors, each trying to navigate their way through the shifting sands or race and sexism in mid-century America, who come together to shine a light on the improprieties of life in the South, is not just one that shows us what was, but also what could be, and in some unfortunate cases, what still is. The Centerstage Theatre production of Trouble in Mind is good, very good, and while it’s missing some of the intimacy and chemistry between its characters in the storytelling, its talented cast does a wonderful job of ringing a warning knell, given our current political and social climate.
The Centerstage Theatre production of Trouble in Mind runs on stage in Federal Way through April 20. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://centerstagetheatre.com/.
Photo credit: Michelle Smith-Lewis
