PicksInSix Review: PASS OVER - Fleetwood-Jordain Theatre
Searing Performances Drive Poignant ‘PASS OVER’
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton
There's a striking production of “Pass Over,” the tale of two lost souls trying to find their way, now playing in Evanston at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, produced by the Evanston-based company Fleetwood-Jordain Theatre, through August 10. Stylishly directed by their producing artistic director Tim Rhoze, this provocative story of two young men looking for their own kind of 'promised land' comes from the hand and heart of Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, whose creative juices here have seen this play go through an original production at Steppenwolf in 2017; a film recording of one of those performances headed up by Spike Lee; and a Broadway premiere, complete with a new ending, in 2021. So, this piece already has a high pedigree of regard.
Two young Black men, Moses and Kitch, live in a depressed part of town (could be Chicago, could be any large city, really), wondering about their next meal, and dreaming of the future. They try to list all their friends who have died at the hands of the police—only to realize there are so many, they simply can't list them all. And what hangs over their heads on their street corner is the stark reality that one or both of them could be next. The stakes for survival are almost impossibly high.
Yet they continue to fashion, in their minds and their conversation, a future that shines for them, that gives them pause whenever it comes up. Moses (arguably the stronger influence between the two, given a wonderful fleshing out by Tyshaun Meekie) is talked into initiating a game they apparently play daily, the ‘Promised Land Top Ten,’ one might call it. This time Moses counts off while Kitch (an almost innocent character through the fine skills of Tyrone Norwood, Jr.) tells what he looks for. Air Jordans, travel, a girlfriend, on and on he goes. Both young men play the game fully, and it's lighthearted and smart, and full of hope... a hope always tempered by the reality of their conditions.
The two are interrupted by an impossibly naive gentleman called Mister, whose pseudo Little Red Riding Hood attitude shows him with a basket of food, an awful sense of direction and a really bad knowledge of the ghetto. Later on, we see an entitled, angry white police officer who shakes the men down every chance he gets. Both roles are played by Tiemen Godwaldt in distinct and individual manners. Fun to watch.
There is a strong influence here from other literary sources, especially Samuel Beckett. The ghost of his classic “Waiting For Godot” shadows heavily here—not inappropriately by any means. But Kitch and Moses both share similar outlooks in their own 'waiting' for the sun to figuratively shine for them. The rapport between Mr. Meekie and Mr. Norwood is thick with camaraderie and familiarity. It has to be; the language in the play is just as thick and almost poetic in its idiosyncratic creation, with sharp and poignant airs in the exchange between them.
Mr. Rhoze deserves special mention here. He has directed the play with a deft delicacy in recognizing the moments at hand. Much of the work seems almost improvised, a tribute to the actors and the director who allows them to ride it as far as they can. Mr. Rhoze also has created a sparse set with a streetlight as a focus and suggested cityscapes lining the background. It reflects the simplicity of the scene and belies the intense complications that these men face daily. Oh, and the title becomes a kind of reverie between Kitch and Moses. "Pass Over" takes on several different guises throughout—from being the escape from the neighborhood to a surprising exploration of slavery, and then to a proposed suicide pact between them. It's quite an eloquent study of the dreams that these young men conjure and what they might be willing to do to make them come true.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com Coming soon, his new solo play “Teddy’s Last Ride.”
PHOTO|Basil Clunie
Fleetwood-Jordain Theatre
presents
PASS OVER
Noyes Cultural Center
927 Noyes Street
Evanston
though August 10
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Saturdays 7pm
Sundays 3pm
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