Power, courage and brutal honesty are what playwright Dael Orlandersmith delivers in her one-woman show The Gimmick. Orlandersmith is the wordplay genius behind the 1995 OBIE award winning play Beauty’s Daughter and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist and Drama Desk Award nominee for Yellowman, which she both starred in and wrote. The Gimmick is another emotional and poignant story that Orlandersmith is known for. This time about a young girl named Alexis living in Harlem, New York trying to survive. The play stirs up strong feelings of empathy and horror as we dive deep into Alexis' life.
The multi-award winning East Harlem resident takes the audience back to 1970s Harlem, New York. She steps on stage wearing all black with only a white tank peeking out and gets right in the story of childhood friends Alexis and Jimmy. Her long dark and light brown braids swing from side to side, as she’s in character. Alexis, we learn, loves absorbing the knowledge and necessary escape she gets from books. It takes her away from her chain-smoking, vodka-guzzling mother Lenore who neglects her. It also takes her away from the depilated neighborhood she lives in filled with drug dealers, prostitutes and senseless crimes. She instantly makes friends with the shy Jimmy who uses his art to escape his abusive pimp of a father Clarence.
Alexis recalls how she and Jimmy talked about run away from their neighborhood. They knew there was something better out there for them. They saw it every week on the television music show American Bandstand. The teenagers on the show lived freely. They fantasized about leaving for Paris where they will soak up the lifestyle and be acknowledged as artists. Alexis will write award winning stories and Jimmy would make Picasso look like a footnote in the art world.
The dream starts to materialize for Jimmy when one of his nude portraits of Alexis is accepted for a major gallery show. Minor success consumes Jimmy leaving Alexis way in the background. Jimmy moves forward while Alexis continues to read books with torn pages in the library. Luckily, she has the head librarian Ms. Innis to confide in. Ms. Innis sees something special in Alexis and nurtures her need to read and write. She gives Alexis a book written by James Baldwin a Harlem native who made it out. Ms. Innis provides more than a list of authors to Alexis. She provides confidence that Alexis can carry with her into adulthood.
However, this doesn’t mean that Alexis is free from her inner and outer demons. The kids call her fat doofus, her mother berates her growing weight gain, and Clarence looks at her as a future sexual conquest. Up to this point, the show is light with humor mixed with some harsh realities. As a young girl, Alexis is already exposed to living in an unsupportive environment. Self-acceptance is a long and unsteady journey she’s taking on. Toward the end, Orlandersmith dives into the dark side of growing up, which includes sexual abuse and shattered dreams. She puts her mind and body describing graphically Alexis’ pain. Her powerful movements will leave you crying and mourning for Alexis’ innocence. As painful her ordeal is, Alexis is able to see past the hurt and torment and reaches out for her American Bandstand dream.
Orlandersmith magnificent way with words and bold expressions paint a vivid heart-breaking picture of young black girl trying to find her way. She mixes the lighter side with tragedy but always emits a positive outlook. As an actress, she puts her whole being into her individual characters. The way she changes her voice from and 8-year old girl’s to an articulate 30-something adult, how she moves her body like a finely tuned instrument and place fierce emphasis into her words to make her point is a remarkable sight to witness and experience.
Orlandersmith is a woman with a lot of heart and commanding presence who freely shares her extraordinary gift of story to everyone especially to the theater community who truly needs it.
The Gimmick plays at The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Hollywood; Wed – Sat at 8 p.m; Sun at 2 p.m. through Sun Oct 1. Tickets $30. For reservations, call (323) 663-1525.
