In 1979 in Greensboro, North Carolina, an anti-Ku Klux Klan rally was attacked by an alliance of the KKK and American Nazis, who killed five rioters. Emily Mann's play "Greensboro," receiving its Chicago premiere at Steep Theatre, dramatizes the attack, as well as the events before and after. It is a little known historical event that deserves greater attention. Unfortunately, Mann's script and Brad Akin's slow-moving production generally fail to have an impact on the audience. Mann has written other successful pieces of documentary theatre, but this one fails to engage the audience with the history and characters, instead adopting a lecturing tone.
The production also feels uncomfortable in Steep's space. The script seems to be written for a very fluid production, with characters weaving seamlessly in and out of the action. Because of the tiny stage, there is not room for the entire cast onstage, and a lot of time is lost bringing people on and off and transitioning between scenes, which kills the pacing of the show.
Oddly, the most compelling section of the production focuses on the most loathsome character in the play. David Duke (a chilling Peter Moore), former Grand Wizard of the Louisiana KKK turned perennial political candidate, lets us into his twisted ideology—his own version of the "I Have a Dream" speech. It is morbidly fascinating, and plays as gruesome black comedy in its frightening illogic. Unfortunately, nothing else in the show comes close to being that gripping. It is not a good sign when the white supremacist is far more compelling than the civil rights activists.
The story of the post Civil Rights Act resurgence of the Klan and its continued ability to avoid consequences for its actions is a dramatic one. Unfortunately, it has not yet found a successful theatrical form.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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