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The First Breeze of Summer
By Leslie Lee
Directed by Ron OJ Parson
At Court Theatre
5535 S. Ellis
Chicago, IL
Call 773-753-4472, tickets $32 - $54
Wednesday & Thursday at 7:30 pm
Fridays at 8 pm
Saturdays at 3 & 8 pm
Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 45 minutes with intermission
Through June 15, 2008
''Old sheep, they know the road; young lambs must find the way.'' –Gremmar’s philosophy of life
Rarely produced 1975 family saga mostly delivers
Leslie Lee’s 1975 Tony Award nominated play, “The First Breeze of Summer” is a flawed yet engaging work. It is the story of one African-American family through three generations of the 20th Century through the eyes of Gremmar (Pat Bowie), the family matriarch. Set in a Northeastern town in the 1970’s at the Edward’s house (impressive house set design by Jack Magaw), we meet the family one hot June weekend as Gremmar reflects on the life lessons she learned from her youth through three lost love affairs. These events were nicely staged as flashbacks using the second floor bedroom. We see Gremmar as a young beauty—Lucretia (Cynthia Kaye McWilliams) who searches for love through unreliable men.
Playwright Lee weaves the present day Edward’s family’s story with Gremmar’s memories effectively until late in act two. This blend projects Lucretia’s struggle to find love, companionship and a man to help her raise her children. She is a smart yet sensual woman struggling to survive in the early 20th Century as a maid. First she loved Sam Greene, strong willed man with a temper who left Roanoke after being fired as a train porter. He fathered her first child and never returned to her. Ten years later, Lucretia has a fling with the oldest son of her employer—Briton Woodward (Jonathan Eliot). She has a daughter with this white man. She moves away from the house out of embarrassment. Her third child came about when she met a miner turned preacher, Harper Edwards (Ronald L. Conner). This short lived affair caused Harper to lose his church appointment when word of Lucretia’s past emerged. Harper’s rage left her alone.
Forward to the present Edwards’ family that finds Milton (A.C. Smith) married to Hattie (Jacqueline Williams) with their two sons—Nate (Brian Weddington) and Lou (Calvin Dutton). Grammar is having a birthday party as Milton’s house. We see how Nate dropped out of college to work with his father in the family’s plastering business. Lou is a scholarly high school student bent on being a scientist or doctor. Lou has a special relationship with his grandmother, Gremmar. He idealizes her as grand model of a Black lady filled with wisdom and high moral values.
We see a portrait of modern family life with an old fashion religious testimony scene that finds each family member being moved to praise the lord. This scene went on much too long and it didn’t add to the story in proportion to its length. This play is too long (at 2 hours, 45 minutes) and it has some unpredictable plot twists that were not adequately setup. The slow pace didn’t help create enough dramatic tension to carry the play.
The most glaring flaw in this otherwise fine family drama is in the last major scene. Gremmar gets ill during her birthday party as old age catches up with her. She is rushed to bed. A few hours later, Lou, her youngest grandson, upset since her learned at the party that Gremmar had three children out of wedlock and one was with a white man. He storms into the room of his dying grandmother and shows his anger with her by confronting her past actions. Gremmar tries to tell Lou that she was simply a human with feelings trying to survive in life. Lou’s anger allows him to try to strangle her. Hattie and Milton pull Lou off Gremmar. Milton attacks his son out of anger. This highly dramatic scene was a surprise since there was no plausible set up earlier to justify this amazing act of rage. We have no clue that Lou is capable of just anger. This flaw hurt the play as an implausible event devoid of foundation.
What saved this show was the wonderful acting from Cynthia Kaye McWilliams as Lucretia, Pat Bowie as Gremmar and A.C. Smith as Milton. The supporting cast gave strong performances as well. The play needs to be cut by 30 minutes and the last scene needs to be foreshadowed stronger or cut. There are many fine moments in this 1975 drama.
Somewhat Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2008
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