Radio Golf: (Not Really) A Review
By Keith Boykin, in theater
Monday, June 4 2007, 1:23PM
I really wanted to like Radio Golf on Broadway. I really did. And I didn't dislike it after I saw it on Saturday. But I did leave the theater with mixed feelings about this last installment of legendary playwright August Wilson's collection of 20th century works.
Set in 1997 Pittsburgh, Radio Golf introduces us to real estate developer Harmond Wilks (Harry Lennix), who is planning to run for mayor. Harmond’s wife, Mame (Tonya Pinkins), is up for a job as communications director for the governor of Pennsylvania. And Harmond's longtime friend and golf buddy Roosevelt Hicks (James A. Williams) is trying to broker a big development deal in the 'hood to construct a major residential complex with a Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and Whole Foods on the street level.
The conflict comes when a local painter named Sterling Johnson (John Earl Jelks) is seen painting a house on the property slated to be developed. The house is occupied by Elder Joseph Barlow (Anthony Chisholm), an old sage who refuses to leave his home for the sake of "progress." Wilks, the politician and developer, is faced with a crucial choice of whom to support.
The play was completed only months before August Wilson’s died in 2005, and is the final piece in his 10-play cycle to capture the black experience in the 20th century. Radio and golf serve as metaphors for the tension between black culture and white integration, and the image of Tiger Woods is even invoked to represent the idea of assimilation.
Tonya Pinkins filled the stage every moment she was on it, but I didn't get to see her enough to satisfy me. Anthony Chisholm seems perfectly cast for the role as the community elder, and the other actors were all strong in their performances. But something about the play didn't connect for me. I hate to speak critically of a legend like Wilson, but the story line and the dialogue seemed stuffy, stilted and unrealistic at times.
Some scenes stretch on interminably as the characters joust by monologue. Unfortunately, the give-and-take of real conversation is often replaced by speeches and lectures instead of dialogue. In one telling scene, Harmond Wilks sits passively while the down-for-the-cause painter and the sellout business partner argue about the difference between "Negroes" and "niggers."
Wilson deserves high praise for taking on the conflict between integration and assimilation, "Negroes" versus "niggers," and new versus old, but many of these themes are not terribly new in the way they are presented.
I have seen several of August Wilson's plays over the years. I have great respect for his significant contribution to theater, and his collected works deserve their place in the pantheon of American classics. But you have to go into his plays expecting a certain type of theater that feels almost Shakespearean in its approach.
There was one light personal moment that took place off stage at the show as well. A couple of ushers recognized me and one struck up a conversation with me during the intermission about my TV appearances. Afterward, a black couple approached me and asked for an autograph, but I wasn't clear they knew who I was or if they had mistaken me for someone else. Moments later, another couple approached and asked for an autograph. Before I finished writing, I was surrounded by 10 people all pointing and asking for autographs.
The situation was very awkward. Nobody mentioned my name or any other name, so I wasn't sure who they thought I was. I often get confused for Kenny Lattimore (although I don't think we look alike), so I thought that was a possibility. A friend later suggested they might have mistaken me for Radio Golf director Kenny Leon. Whatever the case, it was a minor but humorous moment in my experience at the theater.
In the end, I would still recommend that people see Radio Golf. Not because it's groundbreaking theater, but because it's an important piece of work by an important American playwright. And now it's a part of the ongoing American conversation on race.
Radio Golf is now playing at the Cort Theater, 138 W. 48th Street, in Manhattan.
Comments conceal
LaRufus
June 4 2007, 1:52PM
Thanks for the review, but, I'll have to take a rain check on seeing it. I guess that his plays are things I just can't relate to on many levels, and can't see spending money to sit there and squirm and hear the n-word in every other sentence, unless this one is lacking the use, and has some other creative way to call someone when not using their given name.
Kenny Lattimore look-a-like, you are much cuter :). So, take the autographs in style with a sense of humor, it sure beats getting asked for coins!
Herb Jones
June 4 2007, 2:15PM
Keith, your comments very much mirror those of the NY Times review. I saw the show in Boston with the three major characters played by different actors, all of whom I thought were quite good. (Wasn't sure why they were replaced - maybe more familiar names.)I thought that the tensions between the themes you mention were not as evenly played out as I would have liked, but I thought I could figure out most of them. I wasn't sure if perhaps Mr. Wilson felt pressured to complete the play due to his illness, but maybe some re-working of some of the dialogue may have helped. All in all, I enjoyed the story - which is a difficult one to tell and conclude because it was supposed to be "current".
Charles
June 4 2007, 4:20PM
I have seen 7 of the 10 plays written by August Wilson and have enjoyed all of them with great energy; yet I agree that he is not for everyone but he is worth checking out.
Wilson’s unrivaled knack for combining realism and theatricality is fully realized in his final work. Surrounding the redevelopment efforts of Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Radio Golf questions how to preserve the past while still moving forward.
With Radio Golf, Wilson leaves his audience thinking while peppering the play with his unique humor. The many comic moments of the piece make the dramatic moments even more powerful. Radio Golf deals with preservation, education, segregation, community, and betrayal, but never makes its messages too obvious or contrived.
VOTE EDWARDS 2008
Ostend Street
June 4 2007, 6:09PM
First, I want to mention that I love theatre. I love all types of plays regardless of what they represent. Musicals are my favorites, but I can watch one acts, straight drama, and just good theatre. I saw Radio Golf at Centre Stage here in Baltimore and thought it was good. Perhaps it played better to a small theatre venue. I didn't think it was great, but it was good. Since Mr. Wilson accomplished his goal of creating 10 works of theatrical art, I applaud all of his efforts and since I love theatre so much, whenever I see one of his plays being performed I will pay to see his l0 works again. Criticizing is good but loving theatre is better. Look at the rich body of work it gives black actors -- real theatre actors!!!
Derrick from Philly
June 5 2007, 10:45AM
Mr. August Wilson's accoplishments were/are tremendous. He is among America's greatest playwrights. But just like some of those other great playwrights (Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller) can there come a time in your professional/artistic life when you really don't have more to say on the subject that was your initial passion--the reason you began writing in the first place? Is this an issue that all writers have faced. It's one thing to be the interpreters of a writer's work: directors, actors, filmmakers, they never run out of new material; but the writer has to come up with new ideas/stories; that's a tougher job...later in life, maybe impossible.
C. Baptiste-Williams
June 5 2007, 3:02PM
One of the best perks of working at the Kennedy Center in DC was being able to not only see so many diverse pieces of work but to often meet the people behind them.
Meeting August Wilson was one of the many highlights of working there. I think King Hedley with Brian Stokes Mitchell was by far my favorite. I think you came to that one Keith if my memory is correct.
I have seen 5 of the 10 works and will try and see this when I get to NYC in August. Hmmm August in August.
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