Penned by Tony award-winning playwright Warren Leight, HOME FRONT makes its West Coast debut at the Victory Theatre Center. Inspired by the famous image of a couple kissing in Times Square on VJ Day, Leight was struck by a thought: “I wondered what their lives would have been like had they been an interracial couple…as the son of a jazz musician, I grew up around many interracial couples, and I saw early on the pressures on their lives and marriages. It’s shocking that, more than 70 years after WW II ended, questions about a state’s right to ban interracial marriage have resurfaced.”
The time is VJ Night, 1945. The place is New York City crowded with celebrants joyously marking the end of WW II. It is a night when magic can happen. And perhaps there is enchantment in the air as Lt. James Aurelius Walker (C.J. Lindsey) first casts his eyes on Annie Overton (Austin Highsmith Garces), a war widow. It doesn’t take long for fireworks to shower the couple, and soon they are planning on joining their resources to make a life together – with perhaps one impediment slowly making its way to the surface. James just happens to be black, and Annie is white – a fact which neither of the lovers seems concerned about. As James, one of the Golden Thirteens, likes to say, “Things have changed now.” After all, he is an African-American man who was given the opportunity to achieve officer status in the military, signaling big social changes on the way – or so he truly believes. The stakes rise quickly when Annie finds out that she is pregnant.
As Annie struggles to create a nest and safe haven for the lovers in NYC, she meets Edward Glimmer (Jonathan Slavin), her apartment neighbor and a charming gay man who clearly understands what the couple will be facing as he tries to help them settle in. But, before James gets his military discharge, he is sent to Goose Creek, South Carolina, a deep South location which still sports red necks and white hoods. When James is arrested by the local sheriff after he tries to help a young candidate for a lynching, the ramifications of their interracial relationship come to the fore. Has the world really changed? HOME FRONT has all the elements of a Greek tragedy as the story wends its way to its inevitable conclusion.
Skillfully directed by Maria Gobetti, HOME FRONT deals squarely with the complex question of race – and asks when biases and discrimination will end. The play could be seen as a dark indictment of U.S. society – but at the same time manages to include some level-headed, crisp repartee by Slavin’s Edward, whose incisive and astute remarks reveal optimism mixed with fatalism. His mantra seems to be, “Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” The principals deal with this tragic dilemma with a range of intense emotions – anger, rage. sadness, loss of hope – while Edward offers a compassionate foil to James’ outrage. The audience too hopes for the best and prepares for the worst. The production team does an excellent job of creating the 1940s atmosphere with Evan Bartoletti’s set and Carin Jacobs’ costumes. Jermaine Alexander’s video. Benedict Conran’s lighting, and Noah Andrade’s sound add to the incendiary nature of this drama.
HOME FRONT is a well written, directed, and acted drama which focuses on bigotry and hate in a very personal way. At the same time, it is engaging, engrossing, and entertaining. This is a thought-provoking production which is highly recommended.
HOME FRONT runs through February 26, 2023, with performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 4 p.m. on Sundays. The Victory Theatre Center is located at 3326 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505. Tickets range from $28 to $40. For information and reservations, call 818-841-5421 or go online.
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