All the Natalie Portmans
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Cititour.com Review
An African-American family tries its best to handle a hardscrabble existence, addiction and complex family relationships. On paper, C.A. Johnson’s “All the Natalie Portmans,” now being presented by MCC Theater, sounds slightly formulaic. Fortunately, the onstage result is practically a revelation, thanks not only to Johnson’s sophisticated script, a sublime mixture of reality and imagination, but also Kate Whoriskey’s sensitive direction and the truly dynamic lead performances of Kara Young and Montego Glover.
Young, who basically walked away with Stephen Adly Giurgis’ “Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven” earlier this year, outdoes herself here, precisely capturing the many facets of the ultra-intelligent, wise-beyond-her-years yet painfully vulnerable 16-year-old Keyanna. While physically stuck in a modest home D.C. in 2009 (nicely designed by the great Donyale Werle), Keyanna imagines a possibly unlikely future in Hollywood as a screenwriter, where she hopes to pen a script for her favorite actress – and imaginary friend – Natalie Portman (an amusing Elise Kibler).
But if there’s any chance she can make it to Tinseltown, Keyanna must deal with a whole lot of obstacles, and not just coming up with college tuition fees or even plane fare. It’s hard out there for a lesbian in a world not fully equipped to deal with queerdom. And that statement proves doubly true for Keyanna, who is attracted, seemingly mutually, to her “scared” best friend Chantel (an excellent Renika Williams) -- who happens to be sleeping with Keyanna’s studly, kindly big brother Samuel (an extremely good Joshua Boone) in a misguided attempt to cancel out her own feelings.
Her biggest roadblock, though, is having to practically run her own household – especially after Samuel does something foolish – since her mother, Ovetta, is a semi-functioning alcoholic. She holds down a job as a hotel maid but ends up staying away from home for days at a time or blowing the rent money on a girls’ night out, angering landlord Mr. Epps (voiced by the unseen Raphael Peacock).
Ovetta could clearly be the “villain” of the piece, but Glover (best known for her work in musicals, notably “Memphis”) turns in an outstanding, multi-layered performance that earns our understanding, even our sympathy. Glover never overdoes the traditional alcoholic persona – she rarely slurs her words – but, like most people suffering from the disease, her Ovetta can go from sadness to remorse to anger in under 60 seconds, often without warning.
Yes, we come to understand that inner pain has increased since being widowed, but Johnson doesn’t let Ovetta’s husband’s sudden death be the easy cause of her affliction; we’re made aware her problem pre-dates that incident. She’s simply a woman who tries and tries again, often unsuccessfully, at being a “good mother” and Glover never shies away from exposing Ovetta’s shortcomings while also reminding us, through her textured portrayal, that Ovetta is essentially a “good person.”
My one misgiving about the play is the use of the Portman character (perhaps in part because I’m not that familiar with the actress’ oeuvre). Yes, Keyanna needs “someone” to talk to, but I’m not sure why it’s Portman. Moreover, some of her numerous appearances (always in costume, by Jennifer Moeller, of one of her film characters) don’t work well enough as either comic relief or dramatic filler to justify their existence; they just distract from the mesmerizing main story that Johnson has crafted.
Just as books should never be judged by their covers, plays should not be judged by their plot descriptions or their titles. By and large, “All the Natalie Portmans” is, as the kids used to say, all that and a bag of chips.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://mcctheater.org/tix/all-the-natalie-portmans/
Open/Close Dates
Opening 2/24/2020
Closing 3/29/2020
Theatre Info
Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space
511 W 52 Street
New York, NY 10019
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