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Greensboro: A Requiem
By Emily Mann
Directed by Brad Akin
At Steep Theatre Co.
3902 N. Sheridan
Chicago, IL
Call 312-458-0722, tickets $18
Thursday, Friday & Saturdays at 8 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 15 minutes with intermission
Through June 14, 2008
Important racial docudrama revisits 1979 murders of civil rights marchers
Steep Theatre’s last show at their Sheridan Road location, “Greensboro: A Requiem,” is a riveting docudrama about a real event that happened on November 3, 1979 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Five people we killed by gunfire and thirteen wounded while marching for civil rights by a group of Klu Klux Klan and self-proclaimed American Nazis. The script is based on courtroom transcripts, newspaper articles and interviews with survivors. Mann makes a case that the Greesboro police and the FBI knew about the Klan’s plans to shoot key marchers from the anti-Klan rally. Much of her information comes from Edward Dawson (Alex Gillmor), an ex-Klan member and paid FBI and police informant. The corrupt federal and local government officials—both racist and ant-communist allowed the violence to happen. They white washed the event in rigged and half-hearted prosecutions of the shooters.
Steep Theatre’s production deftly outlines the eye witness testimony through excellent performances for the dedicated cast. Several gospel songs from France Jean-Baptiste set the mood. We see the deep seeded hatred and racial bigotry of the white blue collar Southerners. This docudrama completely covers this little know historical event that got lost in media coverage due to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The smart use of video projections (by Mike Tutaj) enhanced the production with some actual footage of the shooting. The events and the profiles of the principal victims, survivors and offenders were revealed mostly in their own words. We understand the motivations of both the marchers and the Klan. Alec Gillmor, as the sociopath Edward Dawson, aptly depicts the coldly cruel methods of the Klan, the Nazi and the police and the FBI.
As a theatre piece, “Greensboro: A Requiem” works to put a face on all sides of this American tragedy. My problem with this show concerns act two. The same incident seems to be covered over again with several long preachy religious sermons delivered by Sean Nix as Reverend Nelson Johnson, a surviving gunshot victim of the Greensboro incident. These sermons changed the tone of the docudrama. They were unnecessary. I’d make some serious cuts in act two so that the emotional impact of the story doesn’t get deluded with the preaching. The overwhelming redundancy of act two together with the religious polemic almost became overkill. We don’t need to be preached at here. Docudramas work best when they make their point poignantly and end at the high point of emotions. This play seemed to drag on and on.
Somewhat Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2008
Jeff Recommended
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