What happens when a really good playwright decides to write a rom-com, a love story where mistakes and misunderstandings send things swirling into silliness? Pearl Cleage did so in 2012 with “What I Learned in Paris,” and Penumbra Theatre’s eminently enjoyable season-closing production is quite a contrast in tone to her “Blues for an Alabama Sky,” which recently closed at the Guthrie.
This romantic comedy is full of witty banter and one of those twist-filled plots ideal for a breezy viewing experience, popcorn optional. Yet Cleage isn’t one to bring only empty calories to your night at the theater, as she always has interesting things to say about being Black in America, often setting her plays at very interesting historical moments.
“What I Learned in Paris” drops us into 1973 Atlanta on election night as the city’s just voted in its first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson. Cleage skillfully introduces us to a group of people close to his campaign who harbor ambitions, secrets and a desire to “rise to meet the demands of history.” But, as one complains, “If I’d have known the revolution didn’t have room for love, I wouldn’t have fought so hard for it.”
Into this intersection of the civil rights movement and electoral politics glides Evie Madison, an emanation of joie de vivre bursting with charisma and preaching a gospel of self-awareness and the pursuit of happiness. As played by Cycerli Ash, she’s a force of nature with an ethereal air that’s quite a contrast to the nitty gritty of winning an election.
It is her Atlanta townhouse that acts as Jackson’s campaign headquarters, overseen by Vinecia Coleman’s decidedly grounded Lena. To simplify the serpentine story line, Evie’s ex-husband, J.P., is a high-powered civil rights attorney being considered for city attorney who is trying to improve his chances by hastily tying the knot with his live-in girlfriend, Ann … who’s having a clandestine but chaste love affair with J.P.’s junior law partner, John.
Throw into the mix Evie’s efforts to move into an affluent all-white neighborhood and become a mover-shaker in her own new-agey kind of way, and you have a very entertaining and often quite funny tale that also has serious things to say about the dangers of self-sacrifice in service to a cause.
You can partially attribute the play’s ring of truth to Cleage’s tenure as Jackson’s communications aide earlier in life. Lena seems something like a stand-in for the author, and Coleman makes her a very engaging guide in her own bemused and sardonic way.
And what a pleasure to experience Lester Purry’s return to the Penumbra stage as the old-school alpha male, J.P. A longtime company member who was a key element in many a Penumbra production of August Wilson’s work, Purry is note-perfect in the role, complemented well by Lauren Steele as the anxiety-prone Ann and La’Tevin Alexander as the lovestruck John.
Penumbra’s founder and longtime leader, Lou Bellamy, has directed “What I Learned in Paris” with a warm, affectionate touch that emphasizes the individuality of the characters. With the help of Dana Rebecca Woods’ costumes and Julia Cervera’s props, it feels very much like 1973 on the Penumbra stage. And the soundtrack full of early-‘70s soul and funk is delightful, often entrusted with keeping this rewarding rom-com rolling.
‘What I Learned in Paris’
- When: Through May 14
- Where: Penumbra Theatre, 270 N. Kent St., St. Paul
- Tickets: $45-$5, available at 651-224-3180 or penumbratheatre.org
- Capsule: A very enjoyable comic confluence of love and politics.
