Hot Comb

By Keith Boykin, in theater
Monday, October 7 2002, 11:40AM

Elmo Terry-Morgan's production of "Hot Comb" at Brown University's Rites and Reason Theater is very enjoyable.

The new play is about Madame C.J. Walker's influence on legions of black women. It's around 1917 and Young O'dessa (Jana Willinger) moves from Apex, North Carolina to Harlem, where she plans to become a successful, "independent woman" in the hair business. She is disappointed to learn that Harlem is filled with Madame Walker's proteges, so she needs to find her own approach to success.

"What would Madame Walker do?" Specialization, it turns out, is the answer. O'dessa finds a community of drag queens, bulldaggers and gay men at the Blue Tavern on West 131st Street and immediately senses a business opportunity — providing hair care services to this underserved community. It's a brilliant idea that enables the play to explore the multilayered role of black gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered African Americans in early black cultural life.

At the center of the community is a black drag queen named Tiara (Andre Thompson), who is quite literally the belle of the ball. With styling help from O'dessa, Tiara competes in the annual Hamilton Heights Lodge Ball in hopes of becoming the new queen. When Tiara wins, business takes off, but O'dessa still must negotiate her way through ambiguous relationships with men and women.

The hot comb becomes a metaphor for the tools we use to assimilate into the larger culture. As one audience member commented during the "Folk Thought" after the show, the play not only explores the "politics of hair" but also the politics of race, gender, class and sexuality.

The genius of the production is its disarming appeal as it subversively challenges the traditionally rigid notions of black sexuality. Even grandmothers and parents were tapping their feet to the intoxicating musical numbers as men embrace and kiss and women hold hands on stage. It's also worth noting that the show was created through Terry-Morgan's "research-to-performance" method, which lends historical accuracy and credibility to the whole concept.

The 20-person cast is creatively assembled and breathes life into the big ensemble numbers, including a moving gospel tune created by Elmo Terry-Morgan and Clarice LaVerne Thompson, the show's gifted musical director. But the cast too crosses boundaries, as white actors play black characters and men play women. Although it's still being completed, the musical comes together fluidly under the watchful direction of Judith Swift and the nuanced performances by the show's actors.

In the end, "Hot Comb" is a hot number that's sure to untangle many of the myths about sexuality politics in the black community.