A Noise Within continues their 2023-2024 season with a fine production of King Hedley II by August Wilson. This ninth play in his ten-play cycle about the Black experience in twentieth-century America is loaded with the symbolism, spirituality, and superstition we have come to know from his writings. The exceptionally talented Aaron Jennings plays the titular role with the fire and desperation of a man in need of accomplishment. Despite being challenged with some heavy-handed presentational staging, he especially shines in his lengthy speeches, delivered eloquently and with a strong emotional through-line. despite his bad choices and the pain that his distorted sense of masculinity inflicts on others.
Aaron Jennings, Christian Henley
The action takes place in and about a dirt yard between two neighboring row houses. It starts with the entrance of the eccentric and mystical neighbor, Stool Pigeon, who beats his drum and says, “The people need to know the story” and “Let him who have wisdom understand.” The character, engagingly played by Gerald Rivers with the qualities of both wiseman and hermit, functions as an historian and harbinger of the piece, collecting newspapers with reports of violent acts and alluding to a predetermined conclusion saying, “The story’s been written down. All that’s left now, is the playin’ out.”
Gerald C. Rivers
Next, King enters with a bag of seeds he begins to plant in the dry red dirt. His mother Ruby (Veralyn Jones), a one-time band singer with weathered survival skills, tells him not to put the seeds in bad dirt, to which he replies, it’s the only dirt he’s got. She tells him she has gotten a letter from Elmore (a charismatic Ben Cain) saying he will be coming for a visit and wants to speak with him. King’s friend and sidekick Mister (youthful and charming Christian Henley) enters to inform him that a cousin of someone named Pernell is trying to find him.
Christian Henley, Aaron Jennings, Veralyn Jones, Kacie Rogers
King plants seeds in the poor soil of a vacant lot because he wants to grow flowers; the soil representing the lack of opportunity for a Black man in America. Stool Pigeon, referring to biblical scriptures, says the story’s been determined and we have little to do with how we get there. The playwright uses a series of allusions to set us up, in a way planting his own seeds. What does Elmore want to talk to King about? Why is Pernell’s cousin looking for King? In the course of the play we get the answers.
Ben Cain, Aaron Jennings, Christian Henley
King desires to become a legitimate businessman, the owner of a video store. But starting a business requires capital, and as a Black man in 1990s Pittsburgh, fresh out of seven years in prison, King has no way to raise money except by committing another crime. We also learn after meeting King’s wife Tonya (played with strength and intelligence by Kacie Rogers) that she is pregnant and having doubts about bringing a child into a world of violence and random death, not unlike the stories in Stool Pigeon’s saved newspapers. This, in addition to her husband’s history of crime, has her thinking about getting a abortion. Wilson writes these characters with authentic situations to provide insight to his theatergoers, such as when the slippery gambler and con man Elmore awakens Ruby’s flirtatious side; their trickery to cheat money out of King contributes to his lack of trust in his own community.
The Ensemble
Except for the occasional overly busy staging, director Gregg T. Daniel‘s valiant production tells the story in a clear and meaningful way. The attractive set designed by Efren Delgadillo Jr is visually appealing in its muted earth tones, forced perspective, and use of space. The lighting by Brandon Baruch compliments the set but is too busy during some scenes with sudden dimming and color changes, competing with the acting moments instead of enhancing them. While this may not be my favorite of Wilson’s great body of work (it is one of his longest), it is equally important.
Kacie Rogers, Aaron Jennings, Ben Cain, Veralyn Jones
photos by Craig Schwartz
Veralyn Jones and Kacie Rogers
King Hedley II
A Noise Within
3352 E Foothill Blvd in Pasadenaends on April 28, 2024
for tickets, call 626.356.3100 visit A Noise Within
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If you want a Master Class in acting then check out this performance. The entire cast is fantastic. The script is one of Mr Wilson’s most verbose and meandering but this cast delivers it at a breakneck pace without missing a beat of the intensity or purpose. Another triumph for A Noise Within