Emergency
Emergency, written and performed by Daniel Beaty, and presented at the Geffen Playhouse, is an extremely captivating production. Beaty is a graduate of Yale, a trained classical musician, an actor, singer, writer, poet and composer who has worked throughout the United States, Europe and Africa. He has garnered many awards for his outstanding work in every one of his fields. He will mesmerize you with his astonishing talent throughout the eighty minutes he is on stage. Though he is alone onstage during the entire time, we meet more that forty different characters that he “becomes.” And what is so amazing is that, as he becomes certain characters, with his voice, manner and facial expressions, he seems to change and appear to actually be more than the forty characters he is depicting.
As an historic slave ship, appropriately named Remembrance, suddenly arises out of the Hudson River near the Statue of Liberty, a throng of African Americans are awe-struck by the phenomena. To be sure, it is not a phantom ship, (shown as a shadow on a projected screen), but allows those to meet up and struggle with the past. Beaty brings a wide variety of characters to life including a model, a transsexual, a child, a young poet, a homosexual, a homeless man, to mention a few. Each one is brought to life by him under the superb direction of Charles Randolph-Wright. The show offers comedy (believe it or not), music, poetry and social consciousness to it audiences.
Scheduled to run through May 25, it is no surprise that the Geffen Playhouse has extended Emergency through June 1, due to community demand. Recommended.
Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Ave.
Westwood, CA