The Ballad of Emmett Till at Fountain Theatre

The Ballad of Emmett Till

Fountain Theatre
5060 Fountain Avenue Hollywood

A true story. The now legendary tale of Emmett Till ignited the start of the civil rights movement. This west coast premiere, part history and part ghost story, is a jazz/gospel/folk integration of past and present, the living and dead, factual accounts and storytelling. Chicago playwright Ifa Bayeza captures the powerful truths at the heart of the legend, creating a soaring work of music, poetic language and riveting theatricality.

Thru - May 30, 2010

Thursdays: 8:00pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 8:00pm

Sundays: 2:00pm

Price: $15- $30

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 323-663-1525

www.fountaintheatre.com

The Ballad of Emmett Till Reviews

Average Rating based on 6 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Highly Recommended

"...Director Shirley Jo Finney's purposeful, precisely syncopated staging is impressively specific in both movement and meaning. In the title role, the hugely likable Lorenz Arnell captures the buoyancy of his doomed character. As Till's mother, who so bravely insisted on an open casket so that the world could see her son's appalling injuries, Karen Malina White exudes dignity and anguish in equal measure. Bernard Addison, Rico E. Anderson and Adenrele Ojo, who round out the cast, are all superb, as are the production elements, particularly David B. Marling's sound design and Kathi O'Donohue's lighting. Ameenah Kaplan's first-rate choreography augments Finney's near-balletic blocking."

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- F. Kathleen Foley

LA Weekly - Somewhat Recommended

"...The problem may be one of taste, but it ties directly back to the compulsion to spill the guts theatrically. Finney's staging of the abduction starts brilliantly, with a pair of headlights appearing behind a translucent scrim. The production then devolves into a graphic, extended and emotionally exploitative depiction of the fatal beating - a scene the ancient Greek's would have avoided, showing merely the aftermath of the violence. It was, in fact, the aftermath of the violence that changed the world - the open casket. That said it all. This production would be stronger, and give more credit to our intelligence, if it followed the same example."

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- Steven Leigh Morris

Backstage - Highly Recommended

"...Director Shirley Jo Finney elicits fine performances from her actors and crafts a brisk and lively production. Addison displays great dignity as Emmett's preacher uncle Moe, who must watch helplessly as the boy is kidnapped from his house. White plays Emmett's mother, who warned him about the racist attitudes in the South, and the white woman he supposedly whistled at. Ojo eloquently captures the anguish of the Mississippi aunt who's unable to save her nephew. And Anderson scores in a number of smaller roles."

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- Neal Weaver

StageHappenings.com - Highly Recommended

"...Everything leading up to Emmett's peacocking with a white shopkeeper is nothing short of excellent. From there, the tensions mounts, in a haze of unclear and generalized terror, effective in creating mood, but not altogether transparent are his transgressions and the explosive level of violence. We are left filling in the blanks, which may be exactly what Bayeza intended. There is no suitable answer to the why's Emmett's murder leaves us with except pure, unadulterated hate."

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- MR Hunter

ReviewPlays.com - Somewhat Recommended

"... In "The Ballad of Emmett Till" Bernard Addison, Rico E. Anderson, Adenrele Ojo, and Karen Malina White do a good job with their multiple parts, and Shirley Jo Finney, who took over the direction after the tragic murder of The Fountain's Ben Bradley, keeps everyone moving in a timely manner. But the play itself just doesn't jell. It is neither an uninhibited paean to the unencumbered life nor a chilling exposition of brutality. Instead, it is 90 minutes of inchoate and unfulfilled potential."

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- Cynthia Citron

CurtainUp - Highly Recommended

"... The cast is splendid, and all but Arnell play multiple roles. In addition to Arnell, shy, boastful and frightened as Bobo , there is Karen Malina White who plays his beautiful imperious mother and little cousin with equal skill; Bernard Addison as the jovial Preacher who tells a horrific tale of black people forced to serve as a human levee during a flood; Rico E. Anderson, a terrifying presence with his inhumane snarl; and Adenrele Ojo, who ranges from Emmett's grandma to his teasing teen-age boy cousin without missing a beat."

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- Laura Hitchcock

This show has been Jeff Recommended*

*The designation of "Jeff Recommended" is given to a production when at least ONE ELEMENT of the show was deemed outstanding by the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee.

The Ballad of Emmett Till at Fountain Theatre