Theater review: Guthrie’s ‘Nacirema Society’ turns out to be all about love and laughter

If I try to describe Pearl Cleage s play The Nacirema Society to you there s a good chance that you re going to go in expecting something quite different from what you ll get For example if I tell you that it takes place in Montgomery Ala while civil rights activists are being murdered in neighboring Mississippi and the city is months away from Bloody Sunday when police beat up marchers outside Selma you may expect a historical drama about the struggle for equality But no It s a comedy about Black aristocrats preparing for their annual debutantes ball and the th anniversary of their fraternal organization for the elite families of southern Black heritage So you might think it a satire about oblivious people too wrapped up in themselves to have any interest in changing history And that s not really right either Oh there s a touch of that here and there but what Cleage has created is veritably a combination of screwball romantic comedy and a vintage farce full of mistakes misunderstandings and the best laid plans going raucously awry Dedra D Woods Marie Dunbar Happiness Dolo Janet Logan Nubia Monks Gracie Dunbar Greta Oglesby Grace Dubose Dunbar and Regina Marie Williams Catherine Adams Green in The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years Dan Norman Guthrie Theater In the Guthrie Theater s production you ll find an expertly executed comedy driven by nine splendidly sculpted performances and the kind of taut direction this type of controlled chaos requirements courtesy of Valerie Curtis-Newton Played out on an elegant multi-tiered Takeshi Kata set on the Guthrie s thrust stage it s a tremendously enjoyable show that might go on a little longer than ideal but offers a welcome balm of laughter amid troubling times Something of a takeoff on a similar southern society called the Emanon Society the Nacirema Society is all about establishing a standard of excellence even if it s more about keeping up appearances and maintaining a social pecking order than definitely helping anyone accomplish anything As for Dr Martin Luther King Jr and those fighting segregation they re viewed with a wary eye by these elites who haven t quite grasped that you can t say you participated in the mid- s Montgomery bus boycotts if you ve never set foot on a city bus in your life Greta Oglesby Grace Dubose Dunbar Nubia Monks Gracie Dunbar and Dedra D Woods Marie Dunbar in the Guthrie Theater s production of The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years The show runs through May at the Minneapolis theater Dan Norman Guthrie Theater As preparations for the annual cotillion are underway several subplots intertwine to throw things into comical disarray There s a blackmail plot involving the society s founder secrets ending up in the wrong ears scandalizing letters in the wrong hands a New York Times reporter showing up and the cotillion s king and queen considering chucking all this confining tradition to pursue other dreams And yes there s a love story too Related Articles Theater review Mean Girls at Ordway is a satire that lacks spark and clarity Review History Theatre s Secret Warriors a gripping take on a seldom-told story Theater review Guthrie s Mousetrap is enjoyably faithful to Agatha Christie Theater review Tour finds the truth in Dear Evan Hansen at St Paul s Ordway Theater review Life of Pi is captivating theatrical magic Although she s sometimes too quiet for the Guthrie s expansive space Greta Oglesby nevertheless commands the stage as the society s imperious doyenne Grace Dunbar Meanwhile Nubia Monks is magnetic and marvelous as her high-energy Supremes-loving teenage granddaughter Gracie And what a hoot to have Regina Marie Williams show off her too-seldom-seen comic chops as the sherry-swilling bundle of anxiety entrusted with defusing a promising disgrace They re complemented well by eminently believable portrayals from Aimee K Bryant Dedra D Woods and Darrick Mosley Throughout Cleage s script is full of wit careening from one pithy bon mot and snappy rejoinder to another And this cast delivers it all with crackerjack comic timing and vivid characterizations making this an unexpectedly inspired comedy Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub yahoo com The Nacirema Society When Through May Where Guthrie Theater Second St S Mpls Tickets - available at - - or guthrietheater org Capsule Into a serious setting approaches a silly and very enjoyable romantic comedy