JOE

Cut Flowers

Review by Mansfield Frazier

Accomplished acting — of the caliber evidenced by the likes of Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker, John Malkovich, and yes, even Oprah Winfrey — requires a razor-sharp intelligence and great courage. Indeed, Sir Laurence Olivier once said (and I’m paraphrases here) that until a thespian is willing to go on stage and risk making a complete fool of themselves, they really haven’t mastered the craft of acting.

Prophet Seay, who appears on stage as Ronnie in Gavin Lawrence’s award-winning play Cut Flowers at Karamu, is fast becoming a master of his craft. His performance alone — as a shit-talking, jive-assed, wannabe playa’ — is, by itself, worth the price of admission. I’ve watched Seay’s development over the years and he continues to grow with each character he adopts. He makes the slick talk and fast repartee look amazingly easy … but it’s actually nowhere as easy as it appears. Few who take the stage become so facile at pulling it off with such aplomb.

Ask any good actor and they’ll tell you that doing comedic role is the most challenging. It requires possessing a great sense of humor and, more importantly, a better sense of timing. That’s why some of our best actors started off their careers as stand-up comics … something Seay might want to consider if he wants to take his copious talents beyond the confines of Cleveland theatre. With the right material, he has what it takes to make it on stage as a solo act.

Further proof of Seay’s talents — and indeed the talent of the rest of the cast — is evidenced by the fact he did such an outstanding job in spite of the caliber of the writing.

While it’s easy to see where the playwright wants to go with this work … the simple fact is, he doesn’t get there; and no amount of superior directing, magnificent set-building, or snappy pacing (all of which were in abundance in this production) can make up for the mundane — almost to the point of sometimes being juvenile — writing.

The problem is, Gavin Lawrence’s work falls “twixt and between.” His overly long fixation on oral sex renders the work quite unsuitable for younger audiences, while one of his core messages — regarding how and why whites are threatened by black masculinity and what they did about it — is certainly something that young people should hear; but his explanations (while accurate) are excessively didactic and ponderous when aimed at adults. The work causes people to laugh … but often for all the wrong reasons, and sometimes even in the wrong places … leaving it to Seay’s brilliant performance to save the evening.

Cut Flowers, directed by Artistic Director Terrance Spivey, runs at Karamu through November 17th.