S. M. Shephard-Massat's easy-going comedy-drama takes place in "a new neighborhood for Atlanta's 'upscale negro population'" at the mid-point of the twentieth century. The compact play, with overtones of Shakespeare and A Streetcar Named Desire, follows the lives of five families who live in or near a four-unit apartment building. Not yet middle class, at least they are doing better than just scraping by; they include a Pullman porter, a sanitation worker ready to strike for union benefits, a high school teacher, and the proprietor of a small taxi service. All of them are well-drawn, and we want to know what happens to them; indeed, a sequel that tells us how Felix's labor action turns out would be welcome. There is a tension among the people of this neighborhood between the ways of the city and those of the country. Indeed, a bit of gardening by Archer sparks the first altercation of the evening, between him and Frieda (feisty Lizan Mitchell), who doesn't want collard greens growing in her yard.

Among the uniformly strong cast are Bethany Butler as Dolsiss—college-educated, privileged, and addicted to something nasty—and Jessica Frances Dukes as Bettie, a sunny-dispositioned girl off the farm in Florida who must face some heartache.

Shephard-Massat's narrative unfolding of events in the second act is perhaps abrupt. But the guardedly hopeful thrust of the play's resolution is inspiring.

posted: 5:16:25 PM  

The New York Times is doing its bit to plump up the profile of the game of chess. First, Jennifer Shahade, in an op-ed piece, suggests borrowing ideas from the promoters of poker, which is getting lots of TV coverage on sports channels despite the fact that it's as physically demanding as scratching your butt. She likes the idea of the knockout tournament (elimination-style) rather than the Swiss-style (round-robin) lineup, which is much more common.

Then Dylan Loeb McClain gives us the scoop on chess and cheesecake, citing international model Carmen Kass (president of the Estonian Chess Federation) and Russian grandmaster and spokesmodel Alexandra Kosteniuk.

posted: 9:40:30 AM