Michael Changwe and Danae Nick. Photo courtesy of Arena Players.
When Chesapeake Shakespeare Company unveiled its soulful adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” this spring, fans came out in droves. They loved the way this classic was re-framed with the sights and sounds of 1970s Baltimore. Theatergoers are in for a similar treat this month with Arena Players’ presentation of Don Evans’ retelling of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” directed by Tyrone Requer.
Together, Nick and Changwe are greater than their sum. Their chemistry crackles from first eye contact all the way through to the jubilant finish.
Evans wrote “It’s Showdown Time” in 1976 and set it as a contemporary piece. Requer has embraced the period in this production, which features giant wigs and groovy threads under the wardrobe supervision of Dawn Chapman. The locale is a Black neighborhood in Philadelphia, and the uncredited set design consists of an immediately relatable pair of rowhouse fronts. Like any typical Philly street corner, there’s a singing group. The Jitters is a quartet of fine singers: Kenneth Stewart, Carltaise Ransom, Dawn Chapman, and Cheston Green. Their musical interludes punctuate the evening with smooth R&B classics like The Spinners’ “Games People Play” and “Sideshow” by Blue Magic. The main characters include the Richardson family: Herman, the father (Daniel Carter), Hazel, his wife (Tandrea Reeves), elder daughter, Rosa (Danae Nick), and younger daughter, Velma (Chelsey Mitchell). Rosa is Evans’ translation of the original Kate. Her suitor, this play’s Petrucchio, is Adam Poindexter (Michael Changwe). There’s a busybody neighbor, the widowed Mrs. Effie Morrison (Tynesha Fulwood), an omnipresent wino, Jeremiah P. Jones (Isaiah Evans), and Velma’s beau, Clarence B. Rowser (Sha Shuler).
The playwright did an admirable job of boiling down the story to its essentials. Velma, though quite free with her affections, has far fewer boyfriends on display than Bianca did. Mitchell delivers a portrayal that’s jam-packed with verve. Shuler, as the bible-thumping Clarence, is gawkish in his bow tie and bell bottoms. He falls for Velma so hard that his disregard for her past promiscuity rings completely true. As the young women’s parents, Carter and Reeves are deliciously wise. Carter serves up much of the play’s sex farce attitude and does it with smiling frankness. Fulwood is the embodiment of her character’s nosy persona. There’s a really delightful shift that she plays in the second act, when her been-there-done-that character encounters a post-makeover Jeremiah and decides to domesticate him. As Jeremiah, Evans is hardly recognizable pre-haircut. The wino cleans up nicely, though, and Evans proves that he’s as good at broad comedy as he is with dramatic roles (like his excellent turn earlier this season in “Gem of the Ocean”).
The play has fabulous support from all of these faces, but naturally the major focus is on the feisty Rosa and the determined Adam. Danae Nick is a newcomer to the theater, with her recent debut in “Laughing Stock” at Spotlighters. Her role in this piece is quite a task for an early career actor, and Nick is more than up to the challenge. She gives Rosa plenty of fire and ice, with the jaded skepticism of a real pro. When the fire dies down and the ice melts, her smile lights up the stage. Audiences should expect to see a lot of her in the future. Michael Changwe is a little more seasoned as a performer, having done fantastic work in last summer’s “The Code Switch” with Sisters Freehold. Here, he is a wide-eyed transplant from out of town, but not quite as naïve as he’s made out to be. Together, Nick and Changwe are greater than their sum. Their chemistry crackles from first eye contact all the way through to the jubilant finish. When these two share the stage, they command complete attention.
Tyrone Requer may be better known by some as a frequent contributor to The Variations Project, Baltimore’s annual ten-minute play festival, but he’s also a highly accomplished director. In this production, he manages a sprawling journey told by a cast of twelve and fills it with delightful slapstick and a few surprises. He is rightly quick to credit the creative and dedicated help he received from Dorian Chapman as assistant director, Dawn Chapman as production supervisor, and a stage management team led by Sandra Meekins. There’s an awful lot going on here, and it hums along extremely well.
Running Time: Two hours and 10 minutes, with one intermission.
Advisory: Like its source material, prominently features overt misogyny and domestic abuse; includes profane language, violence, references to drug use, and simulated excessive drinking of alcohol.
“It’s Showdown Time” runs through June 30, 2024 at Arena Players, 801 McCulloh Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. For more information and to purchase tickets, go online.
