The pleasure lies not in the cookies, but in the pattern the crumbs make when the cookies crumble.
~ Michael Korda
Playwright Lynn Nottage is a national treasure—a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, and among the very best storytellers in mining nuance from ordinary circumstances and historical facts. Her heart-rending Intimate Apparel and Sweat have long been staples of the American stage; her sly comedy Clyde’s is a must-see.
Asia Nicole Jackson
She’s at her best examining the lives of working-class people, which she does with dazzling aplomb with Crumbs from the Table of Joy, a piece that debuted 30 years ago but still feels astoundingly current. The production is enjoying a marvelous revival at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre.
Asia Nicole Jackson, David Everett Moore, & Anna Marie Sharpe
Adroitly directed by Elizabeth Carter, the tale set in autumn 1950 revolves around a family recently resettled in Brooklyn, NY from Pensacola, Florida. A baker by profession, Godfrey Crump (David Everett Moore) has uprooted his two daughters and moved them to New York after the death of their mother. Godfrey has left Pensacola partly to get away from rampant racism in the Florida panhandle, but more to be closer to his spiritual guide Father Divine, who was a real cult leader from the 1920s into the ‘50s. Nottage is brilliant at melding history with fiction.
Asia Nicole Jackson & Jamella Cross
Godfrey’s eaten up with anxiety and unanswered questions, which he jots down in a little notebook, then tears out the page and stuffs it in his pockets, overflowing with many others. He hopes Father Divine will answer at least a few of them. His daughters Ernestine (Anna Marie Sharpe) and Ermina (Jamella Cross) hope only to have a normal stable life—a big wish given that their father comes home one day with the news that his guru has given him a new spiritual name: Godfrey Goodness.
David Everett Moore & Carrie Paff
David Everett Moore
Structured as a memory play, similar to Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie the story is delivered as a recollection by Ernestine, who introduces the setup to the audience and makes frequent asides as some of the action runs away in comical, unanticipated direction—“Well, no, that didn’t really happen”—bringing us back to the core story.
Jamella Cross, Asia Nicole Jackson, & Anna Marie Sharpe
The girls’ flamboyant Aunt Lily (Asia Nicole Jackson) disrupts the Crump household. A flashy dresser intent on one-upping white women, she’s sassy and assertive and also a communist sympathizer eager to empower black women. Then comes the day on the subway when Godfrey befriends an expat German woman named Gerte (Carrie Paff), whose appearance alienates the girls and further disrupts the family’s already tentative stability “Why a white woman? And why a German?” Ernestine pleads. “Couldn’t she at least have been French or British?”
Asia Nicole Jackson, Anna Marie Sharpe, Carrie Paff, David Everett Moore, Jamella Cross
Anna Marie Sharpe & Carrie Paff
Sound designer Ray Archie’s subtle effects are tremendously helpful in creating the illusion of Godfrey and Gerte sitting side-by-side on the subway. Costume designer Becky Bodurtha keeps the whole affair solidly in the early 1950s.
Anna Marie Sharpe, Carrie Paff, & David Everett Moore
The entire cast tackles this fascinating production with great energy and conviction. Moore is tremendous in conveying Godfrey’s misguided bafflement, while Jackson oozes sass and indignation. Aurora couldn’t have found a better performer than Paff for the role of Gerte. She not only looks the part, but does a credible Marlene Dietrich impression. Seen most recently in Center REP’s compelling Froggy, Jamella Cross is fabulous as the insecure younger sister with a spastic leg.
Jamella Cross & Anna Marie Sharpe
But it’s Sharpe who carries the show. Her beautifully-paced delivery is sincere and compelling, and her closing scene—“walking and riffing”—is absolutely heartbreaking. Nottage fans will love this show. So will those for whom this production is their first exposure to the genius playwright.
David Everett Moore & Anna Marie Sharpe
photos by Kevin Berne
Crumbs from the Table of Joy
Aurora Theatre
2081 Addison St. in Berkeley
Tues-Fri at 7; Sat at 2 & 8; Sun at 2
streaming performances May 20-25
ends on May 25, 2025
for tickets ($20-$68), call 510.843.4822 or visit Aurora Theatre
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Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact: [email protected]
