Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it. Much argument about this quote, its exact wording and original source, to be sure, but the message is the same: We need to learn history. St. Louis Shakespeare Festival annual event Shakespeare in the Streets is back after a year’s hiatus, giving us the remarkable piece The Ville: Avengeance! There’s lots of relatively unknown history in it.
As is the tradition, it’s outdoors, with some seating, but mostly BYO lawn chairs (or blankets, but the street is blocked off for the audience, and most of us would be mighty uncomfortable). The stage is the lawn of Annie Malone Children and Family Services’ lovely Georgian-style building in the midst of the historic Ville neighborhood.
Playwright Mariah Richardson (a graduate of nearby Sumner High School and the author of, among many other things, Love at the River’s Edge, a previous SLSF Shakespeare in the Streets) brings us the ghosts of Annie Malone (Michelle Dillard) and a young man named Hopeless (Tylan Mitchell) who was killed nearby. They both appear before two guys visiting the neighborhood. Hamlet (Brandon Ellis), who’s inherited a house his grandfather owned in the Ville, has brought his buddy along from North County to take a look at the property. They hadn’t bargained on a couple of ghosts.
But it’s the ghosts that bring it to these suburban guys, talking about the Ville, complete with honest assessments of things like segregation, redlining and urban crime. The stories of the neighborhood that supported Black businesses and cultural institutions are mostly news to Hamlet and Heratio, and probably to some of us as well – despite how well we think we know St. Louis history. The story is clearly, vividly told, including Hamlet’s grandparents. The fictional Grandma (Arthurine Harris) was a graduate of Homer G. Phillips School of Nursing, which I can tell you from personal experience produced some extraordinary women; his grandfather (Carl Overly, Jr.) quite a persistent charmer from Mississippi. Alex Jay, as the narrator, rounds out the cast, all of whom can be pretty much described as enthralling. Nevertheless, Dillard’s Malone stands out, a formidable woman who tells the story with powerful restraint.
In addition, there are two music breaks from The Legend Singers, whose long history goes back to Kenneth Billups, who taught music at Sumner, and who was certainly a legend himself. They add immensely to the experience.
Thomasina Clarke, who also has deep, deep roots in the Ville, directed. The history of the neighborhood is enhanced by the set from Peter and Margery Spack, using multiple smaller white screens upon which are projected illustrations of photos, advertisements and newspaper clippings relevant to the story. Bryant Powell deserves credit for the lighting, which moves the story along smoothly.
A delightful and important piece of work that contributes greatly to the understanding of life in St. Louis. Alas, only running for three nights, closing Saturday, September 11. Do your best to see it if you want to learn a lot and have a fine outdoor theatre experience.
The Ville: Avengeance!
through September 11
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
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