Blessed Assurance

As messed up as things seem in the United States right now, it is reassuring to realize that certain things were much worse 100 years ago. A lot happened in the 20th century. In theory, every adult citizen of the United States can vote now. This was not the case on the other side of the 20th century. And while the actual power of that vote is subject to speculation, many people exerted a great deal of courageous effort to make universal suffrage a reality. This month Acacia Theater Company stages Laddy Sartin’s Blessed Assurance, the story of one African-American woman who demanded her right to vote in Mississippi in 1964.

Ericka Wade stars as Olivia, a cook at a diner in Sunflower County. As the play opens, that familiar face at the diner has become a controversial one. Olivia had climbed the courthouse steps to register to vote and been turned back. Wade has a kind of quiet strength that ties together the rest of the cast quite nicely. Wade has given some stand-out performances at the Boulevard Theatre recently and makes an equally impressive Acacia debut in a role she inhabits quite memorably.

Evan Weisfeldt plays Harlan, the owner of the café. While Harlan seems to respect Olivia, he is a victim of prejudice, and when pressed, he is caught between his apparent respect for Olivia and his place in society in a volatile period of American history. Weisfeldt captures the uncertainty of the time, but his performance fails to shed much light on that side of the human psyche that is unable to accept change towards greater equality. Finding the source of deep-rooted intolerance would be a tremendous challenge for any actor, and Weisfeldt plays the character with enough balance to keep him interesting. But without a deeper understanding of his motivations, he comes off as something of an enigma.

Olivia’s friend Lewis, played by Mario Andre Alberts, is concerned for her safety and joins her in her second trip to the courthouse to demand to be registered to vote. It’s a move that makes things that much worse at the café, which by this time has closed for business and become a refuge for the two of them. Alberts’ performance is compassionate, and he coaxes Lewis and Olivia closer together over the course of the play. There’s a strength between the two of them, but things are going to get much worse before they get better as the two are accosted by a man named Slick.

Jason Will plays the face of blatant racism as Slick. He’s apparently a regular at the café, but his relationship to the other characters is complicated. Perhaps he knows Olivia and Lewis as people, but doesn’t recognize them as equals. This dynamic comes into subtle prominence in a scene between him and Lewis. Slick sits on the counter and asks Lewis to shine his shoes – something Lewis stopped doing a long time ago. The scene is uncomfortable to watch, but it doesn’t carry the kind of overwhelmingly repulsive feeling a scene like this should. Neither actor seems particularly comfortable or uncomfortable as one shines the others’ shoes. It’s eerily devoid of feeling, which speaks to a disturbing lack of insight into the social hierarchy that is alarmingly persistent even in today’s world. VS

Acacia Theatre’s production of Blessed Assurance runs through March 9 at the Todd Wehr Auditorium at Concordia University in Mequon. For more information, call 414-744-5995 or visit Acacia online.