REVIEW: Fairview at Trustus Theatre

So as not to “bury the lede,” this show must be seen. By everyone. More than once.

I went into Trustus Theatre’s production of Fairview with no expectations. I knew nothing about the script, except that it had a brilliant cast and director. What I got in return was one of the best productions and some of the best performances I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

Fairview has multiple definitions here. You can’t pick just one.

The play opens in the dining room of an upper-middle class family. Beverly, played by Marilyn Matheus, is preparing a dinner party to celebrate her mother’s 80th birthday. The rest of the family trickles in, some to help, some to hinder. Dayton, Beverly’s husband, Beverly’s sister, Jasmine, and Beverly & Dayton’s daughter, Keisha. It’s a pleasant, unassuming scene. (I was reminded of the Huxtable family). This is the easiest act to discuss.

Beverly is obsessed with the perfection of this dinner. More than once (or twice or thrice) she mentions she wants the evening to go well. The relationship between Beverly and her husband, Dayton, is charming. Dayton is sweet, flirty, supportive, and playful. Their affection for each other is evident, though there are numerous opportunities for Dayton to fail (intentionally and unintentionally) at some of Beverly’s requests for assistance. Jasmine, Beverly’s sister, joins the party. If Beverly is the “responsible” sister (and she absolutely is), then Jasmine is the “fun” sister. (She’d rather not admit it, but Jasmine is a bit envious of Beverly). The energy, the banter, the spirit of these three characters is infectious. Keisha, Beverly, and Dayton’s daughter, appears and that energy goes through the roof. A high school senior with a bright future ahead of her, but she’s less than excited at the prospect. The path laid out for her is not necessarily the path she would choose. So far, so…. Comfy and cozy.

Scene change. Except that the scene is exactly as the opening, sort of. This time, however, the cast members go through the identical motions but are pantomiming the scene. Their voices are not heard. Instead, the onstage scene is overlaid by the voices of individuals giving  commentary about race and how those very white voices perceive it. The repeated question in this commentary is “if you could choose to be a different race, what race would you be?”  The answers are cringe-inducing. Every stereotype/assumption/contradiction you’ve ever imagined is tossed about. I was embarrassed by the fact that comments such as those were being spoken aloud. The effect was one of watching a television show or movie and having people around you speak over the action.

Scene change. In which the disembodied white voices of the previous scene appear as caricatures of Black individuals, specifically Mama (Grandmother) and Tyrone, Beverly’s brother. The dinner party grows increasingly surreal, even absurdist. The pace, the energy, gets faster and faster and culminates in a bizarre food fight.

Keisha, watching in amazement/horror from the sidelines, stops the madness. And I can’t really tell you anything else or it spoils the ending. Suffice to say the watcher becomes the watched.

Exhausting. Provocative. Uncomfortable. This Pulitzer Prize winning piece takes a hard look at racism, family, privilege, and racial perspective.

Terrance Henderson’s direction is ferocious, and his casting impeccable. There wasn’t a weak link anywhere. Marilyn Matheus (Beverly) brings strength and insight to every role she plays. Deon Turner (Dayton) continues to grow from strength to strength in every show in which he’s cast. Katrina Garvin plays Jasmine to tipsy, smart-mouthed perfection. Rayana Briggs’ energy and intensity, from her entrance to show’s end, is electric. Ilene Fins, Brandon Martin, Katie Mixon, and G. Scott Wild all bring strong thought-provoking performances to the story.

Fairview runs May 4 through 7 and May 11 – 13. The May 7 show is a 2:00 p.m. matinee, other performances begin at 8:00 p.m. Talkback sessions will take place after the May 7 and May 11 performances. A grant from the NEA  has been used for training sessions and support for the cast and crew.

Housekeeping:  The show runs nearly 2 hours without intermission. I promise it won’t feel like it.

Libby Campbell

Jasper Magazine Theatre Editor

REVIEW: COMPOSURE at Trustus Theatre, Written and Directed by Jason Stokes

“Composure brings to light major issues that, after one-hundred and nineteen years, are still prevalent today. Fact versus interpretation of fact, truth versus bias, opinion-based reporting, righteous versus self-righteous, and the checks and balances between the press and the government…” - Jason Stokes, Playwright

Pictured Clint Poston as James Tillman (left) and Jon Whit McClinton as N. G. Gonzales (right)

It’s been a long time coming for Jason Stokes, writer and director of the play Composure, which premiered Thursday night at Trustus Theatre. The inkling of the idea for presenting this story was born almost 20 years ago when Stokes first learned about this particularly sordid excerpt from South Carolina history that, in 1903, finds a white supremacist lieutenant governor, James Tillman, murdering in broad daylight N.G. Gonzales, journalist and co-founder of The State Newspaper, then walking away a free man. Stokes first developed the story as a screenplay before transforming it for the stage. It was scheduled to be premiered pre-Covid in cooperation with Chad Henderson, former artistic director of Trustus, along with Charlie Finesilver’s original production of House Calls, which premieres August 18th.

A larger story to be told than the one incident of the murder, Stokes does an impressive job of integrating the lead-up and aftermath of the shooting and trial into two acts. In fact, the structure of the play is highly sophisticated as the events and dialogue jump logically across place and time in order to explain not just most efficiently and dramatically the events, but the contributing causes of the events that took place.

The cast is, for the most part, stellar, with some of the finest actors Columbia has to offer on the stage in support of their colleague. It was a treat to see such accomplished actors as Hunter Boyle in the commanding role of Pitchfork Ben Tillman, Stan Gardner as attorney Patrick Nelson, G. Scott Wild as attorney William Thurmond, Kevin Bush as journalist J.A. Hoyt, and Terrance Henderson as Ambrose Gonzales, brother to murder victim N.G. Gonzales. Libby Campbell Turner displayed remarkable theatrical chops in her multiple cross-gendered roles as C.J. Terrel and additional characters, often changing characters on a dime just by adjusting the fit of her tie and her own composure. Her facial features and posture reminded the audience that she is a cast of characters unto herself. And Katie Leitner, as the long-suffering wife of the murderer, displayed a grace and elegance even when called upon to deliver the rare mellow-dramatic line. It was great, too, seeing Nate Herring back on the Trustus stage as George Lagare.

We were surprised, however, by some of the casting decisions.

With powerhouse artists like Bush, Wild, and Gardner on board, why were some of the most demanding roles assigned to some of the weaker actors on the team? As James Tillman, Clint Poston, though a fine supporting actor, was saddled with an incredibly challenging role, a role that seems made for the likes of G. Scott Wild who could so easily slide into the character of the blustery and entitled white Southern fascist Tillman must have been. Poston doesn’t seem to have a handle on how deluded and despicable Tillman was, sometimes coming off as somewhat sympathetic and misunderstood.

And while Brandon Martin at times rises to the level of contemptibility of future SC Governor and Senator Coleman Blease, a man who embraced white supremacy and lynching and violently opposed miscegenation, his physical appearance, posture, and contemporary hairstyle, as well as his time spent on stage when not speaking, make it difficult to believe him as the robust character of Cole Blease. Stan Gardner, on the other hand, would have soared in this role. (Since writing this, we have learned that Mr. Martin joined the cast at a late date to take the place of Stann Gwynn, an artist inordinately well suited to take on the role of Cole Blease. Jasper wishes the best both to Mr. Martin as he acclimates to the role and to Mr. Gwynn as he fully recovers from his medical procedure.)

But the most poorly cast actor, in a slate of otherwise excellent theatrical artists, was Jon Whit McClinton in the critical role of N.G. Gonzales. While McClinton was able to manage the side-role of judge most of the time, though he did break character and snicker at his own mistake at one point, he was out of his element among the artists with whom he shared the stage. The particularly jarring reality is that McClinton played opposite Terrance Henderson as Ambrose Gonzales in the majority of his scenes. Henderson’s stage presence, professionalism, and experience would have delivered a far more serious, and certainly less giddy, character than McClinton was able to provide.

We’re not sure whether Stokes conceptualized the set or if this was the singular purview of veteran scenic designer Danny Harrington, whose work has been a gift to most if not all theatre stages in the Columbia area, but the set for Composure, though problematic for the actors in places (Damn those pipes!), is a work of art itself. A play as complex as Composure could have required a multitude of scene changes. But Harrington’s innovative design—and the flexibility of the actors—allows for one large multi-use set that presents as something quite beautiful from the audience.

With a cast this size costuming can be a financial challenge and for the most part costume designer Andie Nicks does a fine job and, in some cases—like Katie Leitner’s elegant black and white skirted pants ensemble—an exceptional job. If financially possible, more consistency of style would be appreciated, too, particularly when it comes to pleats and cuffs for the gentlemen’s pants, hats vs. no hats, and the standard three button coat of the turn of the 20th century. And a good fit, no matter what the wardrobe, is ideal. Similarly, standardized hairstyles for men invite no comparison whereas the juxtaposition of a contemporary style, like that of Mr. Martin’s, stands out and begs notice, disrupting the flow of the play.

While kicking off the sound and lights posed a problem on Friday night, which Stokes managed with grace and humor, the lighting design by Teddy Palmer was helpful in guiding the audience’s attention to a stage in which, at times, as many as three scenes moved from frozen to active in a matter of seconds. In the best of all possible worlds (and budgets!) more intense spotlights would have been available, but in this world, this lighting worked fine. Background sounds by Jason Stokes were appropriate and complementary, with music added in places to enhance the setting but not overwhelm it.

Overall, it was a delight to see the vision of local multi-talented theatre artist and writer Jason Stokes become a reality. This play and its production are important to this community and beyond for a number of reasons.

Kudos to interim artistic director Dewey Scott-Wiley for following through on this project, begun by Stokes and Henderson, which could have fallen by the wayside once Covid forced its delay. We see far too little new stage work from an abundance of literary artists in SC and Columbia in particular. But local theatre and literary artists will continue to produce new art if given the opportunity to see it come to fruition, as Composure has. South Carolina and South Carolina playwrights have fascinating—and sometimes barely believable—stories to share, such as this story and that of Dr Ian Gale in next week’s premiere of House Calls: The Strange Tale of Dr. Gale.

Sadly, we are not as far removed from the issues and behavior depicted in Composure as we would like to think—we’re simply better at subterfuge. As Stokes writes in his playbill notes, “Composure brings to light major issues that, after one-hundred and nineteen years, are still prevalent today. Fact versus interpretation of fact, truth versus bias, opinion-based reporting, righteous versus self-righteous, and the checks and balances between the press and the government. Both are vital to American existence, both must keep careful watch on the other; but when these powerful forces become more self-aggrandizing entities than protectors of the people they serve, the American existence is lost.”

The question now is What’s next for Composure? Without question, the play should live on, possibly with a shorter first act, possibly continuing the model of more actors performing multiple roles to condense the cast. Some degree of workshopping might be helpful, but not a lot. This project strikes us as a good candidate for festivals. It’s a fascinating story that despite the passage of more than a hundred years still resonates and begs the same questions today that it did in 1903.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Composure, a new play written and directed by Jason Stokes.

The Jasper Project