For its final production of season 37, The Black Rep opted for a piece that would make audiences laugh and think by way of a play that feels especially relevant for a piece written more than 50 years ago.
Wole Soyinka’s “The Trials of Brother Jero” explores the cons and fallacies of a man pretending to be of the cloth, but is actually capitalizing on other people’s faith.
It’s a play that The Black Rep has done before and been met with much delight.
Aside from the Americanized dialect, the company stays true to Soyinka’s Nigerian roots for the 2014 staging.
The scenic design, colorful wardrobes and the opening and closing musical design all pay homage to the Diaspora and effectively transport the viewer to a hot summer day in the life of an ordinary African village that has more than its fair share of religious options.
Some are sincere, others are not so much.
Brother Jero falls in the “not so much” category and faces the dilemma of competing against the many religious groups sprouting up that threaten the strength of his worshippers – whom he accidentally refers to has customers at one point.
Black Rep founder and producing director Rep Ron Himes pulls double duty as director and star of the play – assuming the role of the title character. And while there is an ensemble of nearly ten, the story revolves around Jero, Chume and Amope in a triangle of deception and discipleship that threatens Jero’s entire operation.
A.C. Smith returns to The Black Rep stage for the first time in several years as Chume. The character is broken and burdened by his overbearing wife Amope – portrayed by Velma Austin – who is determined to expose Jero for the fraud that he is and pressure her into paying restitution for the funds she poured into his congregation.
Although the audience will connect with the other major players – as well as the limited use of the ensemble – it will be Austin who captures and maintains the attention of the audience in every scene she’s featured.
She gracefully nailed the stereotypical domineering wife and offers the cadences and nuances of a no nonsense Nigerian matriarch.
Her willful opposition to the antics of Jero actually compels Himes to raise the bar with respect to presenting a convincing faith-based façade
The play is surprisingly short and Soyinka writes with such intention that The Trials of Brother Jero commands the audience to tune in to every word. There will be plenty of casualties who will miss a moment and spend the rest of the play trying to catch up – and the pace of pulling off the play in one act doesn’t lend itself to giving viewers time to digest the dialogue.
But even if they don’t hang on to every word, thanks to the conviction of the Black Rep’s production they will get the gist of play’s premise that not only warns of false prophets, but illustrates how to recognize the red flags.
The Black Rep’s production of The Trials of Brother Jero continues through April 27th at Harris-Stowe State University’s Emerson Performance Center. For more information, call (314) 534-3810 or visit www.theblackrep.org.
