John Dossett plays a successful man unapologetic about his politically incorrect beliefs in J.T. Rogers' 'White People.'
A Starry Night Entertainment presentation of a play in one act by J.T. Rogers. Directed by Gus Reyes.
Alan Harris - Michael Shulman
Mara Lynn Doddson - Rebecca Brooksher
Martin Bahmueller - John Dossett
Now, apparently, is the winter of whitey's discontent. The newest Atlantic (the periodical) has received loads of attention for Hua Hsu's article "The End of White America," and the Atlantic (the theater company) is housing Starry Night Entertainment's production of "White People," J.T. Rogers' bid for a similar piece of the cultural pie. Rogers brings real insight to the character of Martin Bahmueller -- a well-dressed, short-fused, middle-aged attorney -- and all three cast members supply interesting perfs. But while the playwright has a lot on his mind, "White People" ultimately misfires when he loses confidence and emphasizes the problem of racism with contrived tragedies.
Gesturing to himself, Martin (a wonderfully unapologetic John Dossett) challenges us to find one person with a well-paying job who uses the construction "I be doing." "Don't tell me language isn't most important," he rants. "Don't tell me words don't matter."
Looming over his fellow actors from the top tier of John McDermott's multilevel set, Dossett's Martin is on top in every sense: He's financially successful, and he's afforded the luxury of a suburban life for his kids after making his name in New York. If anyone in Rogers' play represents the Man, it's him.
He's also the most sympathetic character, oddly. Martin's open hostility to the forces of political correctness (and their surprising power) is wholly in keeping with the kind of guy he claims to be. Over the course of the play, his verbal self-portrait shows us a man consumed by a desire for rigor and efficiency. He doesn't care what people look like (he says), he just wants them to obey the rules.
That brings us to Alan (Michael Shulman), a college professor who recognizes the inherent inequities in those rules Martin loves so dearly but can't reconcile his multiculti beliefs with his uncontrollable racist reactions. These two guys rep a good start for a monologue play about palefaces, but they set Rogers on a dangerous path. Do we admit that these people have valid concerns about the viability of their way of life, even if that way of life keeps other races at a disadvantage? Or do we decide that white privilege is so pervasive and unfair it deserves to marginalized?
Hsu observed in his article that white folks mostly don't even understand that they
have a culture -- they feel besieged, but not unified by their predicament. That's certainly of a piece with Rogers' play: Martin would likely be polite to the play's third character, but he probably wouldn't have much use for her.
Her name is Mara Lynn Doddson (Rebecca Brooksher, a little overstated), a lower-class Southern gal living near Ft. Bragg, N.C., with her perennially underemployed husband. Despite his own North Carolina education, Rogers seems to be writing about a Southern stereotype with Mara Lynn rather than an actual person. Our girl lapses into a grating quasi-poetic idiom that incorporates a lot of flowery similes (a man's stomach is "ridged up and down like a thick knot a' wood").
The problem of authenticity gets worse as the play progresses. Both Martin and Alan have had extremely baroque encounters with violence that just don't sound as well-observed as the rest of the play's discussions of race. A mugging, sure; a mugging and a brutal beating of a visibly pregnant woman on the open street when it's still light out? Less likely.
"White People," like Rogers' last play, "The Overwhelming," provides auds with plenty to chew over despite its considerable problems with honesty. He's a gifted writer and worth keeping an eye on -- here's hoping that he'll both hone his craft and retain his invaluable preoccupation with the larger world.
Set, John McDermott; costumes, Michael Sharpe; lighting, Les Dickert; sound, Elizabeth Rhodes; production stage manager Kate Hefel. Opened Feb. 3, 2009. Reviewed Feb. 1. Running time: 1 HOUR, 35 MIN.
Contact Sam Thielman at
sam.thielman@variety.com
Date in print: Wed., Feb. 4, 2009