I’ve been walking down memory lane lately, retracing the rich history of Los Angeles’ traditional small theatres. Perhaps the oldest of these is the Company of Angels, founded in 1959. Now located in Boyle Heights in the heart of the medical center there, the theatre is easy to miss, as it occupies a low, one-story building that is dwarfed by USC’s Keck medical campus that towers all around it.
But, don’t be fooled, the venerable theatre serves up superior storytelling; this time by resident playwright Kimba Henderson, who has unearthed an important piece of American history that took place during the Great Depression. In 1932, in the worst depths of the crisis, the American wing of the Communist party offered the dream of unity and a mutual hand-up. In Harlem, the performers who had prospered during the 20s were now down and out. With no prospects they jumped at the chance served up by party representative, Misha (Claudio Parrone, Jr.) on behalf of Josef Stalin, to bring African-American performers to Moscow in order to participate in a propaganda film denigrating the U.S. entitled “Black and White.” Playwright Henderson’s intricate tale includes stints in Berlin along the way before the project meets interference from an American industrialist (played by Dennis Gersten) who naturally wants to preserve Russia as a market for American capitalism.
Red Harlem’s talented cast not only personifies the characters in this important and revealing play, but sings and dances its way from Harlem to Berlin, only to become disillusioned through revelations in Ukraine. Performers Fana Minea Tesfagiorgis and Rama Orleans Lindsay lead the way, while Dylan Jones (as Velma) renders a sultry “Mack the Knife” in a key cameo. The entire ensemble tells the story through to its heart-rending finish.You won’t want to miss a beat.
Directed by Bernadette Speakes, the ensemble wends its way on a complicated journey incorporating vivid projections, designed by Emmanuel J. Munda, and projected against an ever-changing set designed by Justin Huen. Costumer Mylette Nora completes the look, while the choreographer, Kenya Clay, sculpts the performance’s key moments. If I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: this is an important, historically accurate retelling of an important chapter in racial relations highlighting the important trajectory that, tellingly, does not begin to resolve until the Civil Rights era.
Company of Angels presents Red Harlem, with performances continuing on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through March 15., at the Legacy L.A. Campus in Boyle Heights, 1350 San Pablo St, Los Angeles, CA 90033. Tickets: $10.00 to $30.00 (Students, Seniors: $18 with valid ID); For more information and to purchase tickets, call (323) 270-6325 or go to https://www.companyofangels.org.
