A Well-Thoughtful Play "in Mind"

                                    LaChanze in "Trouble in Mind." Photo by Joan Marcus.

In 1955, African-American playwright Alice Childress debuted her play "Trouble in Mind," which looks at the rehearsal of a play with an African-American actress as its leading star. It opened to excellent success Off-Broadway, but when it was time to transfer it to Broadway, the producers wanted Childress to alter the ending. She refused because she wanted to keep the script intact. As a result, the transfer was canceled.

Flash-forward to 66 years later, and now, Childress' most famous work finally arrives on Broadway, thanks to the Roundabout Theatre Company. It's currently playing at the American Airlines Theatre on 42nd Street for a limited engagement, until January 9th. The first Broadway production of this long-underrated play is timely, funny, and heartbreaking as the theatre community continues to become more diverse at this moment. 

Taking place over two days of rehearsals at a Broadway playhouse in fall 1957, a cast of six are working on a new play, entitled "Chaos in Belleville." Wiletta Mayer (LaChanze) is among the cast, an actress who did some revues and designated roles for black women like herself before this. Now, she's ready to do her first leading role. The play-within-the-play is meant to be anti-lynching and about finding unity between the white and colored people. But then, Mayer senses that something's not right with the script. She finds that her character has to give her son up to the lynch mob. Mayer addresses this with the white director of the play, Al Manners (Michael Zegen), which gives way to a confrontation about how this scene should be acted and how black actors were treated at the time.

Black director Charles Randolph-Wright has helmed a well-done production here. Arnulfo Maldonado's sets are very authentic as it shows the inner workings of a show in rehearsal. Emilio Sosa's costumes look elegant, and Nona Hendryx has contributed some good music to this work.

"Trouble in Mind" also delivers a fine acting study proven by its excellent cast. The nine-person ensemble (featuring the likes of Zegen, Chuck Cooper, and newcomer Jessica Francis Dukes) shines, but this is definitely LaChanze's show. LaChanze commands the stage with sheer verve and dominance. This is a performance that the Tony nominating committee better not forget for next year's nominations.

As it ends, one of its lines resonates with the current and future status of Black theatre in America: "We have to go further and do better." The time is right now to see this play as it finally gets the audience it deserves in a time of much-deserved change.

"Trouble in Mind" is playing at the American Airlines Theatre on 227 West 42nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) in Manhattan for a limited engagement until January 9th. For tickets, go to roundabouttheatre.org, todaytix.org, or 212-719-1300.