Satirical ‘Colored Museum’ to give Akron audiences much to think about

In a season full of holly jolly entertainment, Makeshift Theatre is offering a non-holiday satire that will make audiences both think and laugh about subject matter that many will consider uncomfortable.

The theater is producing George C. Wolfe’s groundbreaking 1986 play “The Colored Museum,” which, through razor-sharp wit, offers a darkly comedic examination of both the burdens and resilience of Black identity, going back to slavery.

The thought-provoking play, which runs Dec. 12-14 and 19-21 at Coach House Theatre in Akron, offers 10 “exhibits,” or sketches, that subvert both African American cultural and theatrical legacy. It is directed by Elijah Chase, 26, who fell in love with Wolfe’s play when he read it as a high school student in Houston.

“It’s been a dream show that I’ve always wanted to be a part of and direct,” said Chase, a Kent State University technical theater graduate who is assistant education director at Weathervane Playhouse in Akron.

“The Colored Museum,” which was produced by Weathervane in 1997 and has also been done by Karamu House in Cleveland, isn’t often done in the area. Part of that is because it’s an adult show that calls for an all African American cast, Chase said. The other reason is the challenging material.

“It’s such a specific show and sometimes these stories aren’t stories that people want to hear” instead of feel-good material, the director said.

Most ‒ but not all ‒ of the 10 exhibits in Makeshift Theatre’s production are satirical.

“Each deals with an aspect of the African American diaspora and they tell stories by poking the bear,” said Chase, who is making his professional directorial debut.

One example that takes satire to the extreme is the exhibit “Git on Board,” in which a flight attendant welcomes all aboard a slave ship leaving the Gold Coast of Africa for Savannah.

“The reason I love the show is because it makes you look in the mirror. It makes you see something that’s uncomfortable, something that doesn’t necessarily have the best light on it. And then it shines it through a lens that makes you feel like you want to laugh and want to enjoy it,” he said. “But you really have to think about what you’re laughing at and what’s the real meaning behind all the satirical pieces and the things we poke fun at.”

A number of the scenes are about taking the power back from painful experiences in Black culture.

In “The Gospel According to Miss Roj,” Wolfe examines the LGBTQIA experience in the African American household. Here, actor Brandon Alexander interacts with the audience and speaks in absurdities.

Another sketch, “The Last Mama-on-the-Couch Play,” is a farcical take on traditional African American plays including “A Raisin in the Sun” and “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf.” It also pokes fun at early Black actresses receiving awards for stereotypical Black female roles.

The play also features music, including an all-Black Broadway musical number in “The Last Mama” and the sung-through scene “Cooking With Aunt Ethel,” in which an Aunt Jemima-type character (Geriece Drone) sings a catchy tune in a cooking show.

Playwright Wolfe, who has described his play as “an exorcism and a party,” premiered “The Colored Museum” at Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It has been performed everywhere from the Public Theatre in New York — where Wolfe was artistic director from 1993 to 2004 — to the Royal Court Theater in London.

Wolfe, a Tony Award-winning director for the Broadway shows “Angels in America: Millennium Approaches” and “Bring in ‘da Noise/Bring in ‘da Funk,” also directed the films “Lackawanna Blues,” “Nights in Rodanthe,” “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or [email protected].