PAUL ROBESON SPEAKS OUT!
Artvoice Magazine
Tony Chase 2/12/04
In a season of one person tours de forces,
Willie W. Judson, Jr., holds his own as Paul Robeson in the Buffalo Ensemble
Theatre/Subversive Theatre Collective production of PAUL ROBESON SPEAKS OUT at
the New Phoenix Theatre. Under the direction of Kurt Schneiderman, Judson
commands the stage for two hours, recounting the career of the great
singer-actor and his life of political activism.
Despite the director's dubious contention in his
program notes that "Paul Robeson is perhaps the only historical figure
who's most noteworthy for how few people remember him." (Rutherford B.
Hayes, Katharine Cornell, and John Foster Dulles anyone?), the piece ably
conveys the power and the insight of the man who used his fame and popularity to
highlight the oppression of his race and whose performance of Ol' Man River in
the musical SHOWBOAT is still the definitive version.
Schneiderman makes excellent use of the space and
has provided a most effective lighting design as well. Judson turns in a clear
and well-paced performance that flies by despite the show's two-hour length.
Along the way we hear of Robeson's years at Rutgers, his time in law school and
in the non-practice of law, his entry into show business, and his political
awakening. It is a nicely constructed and insightful piece and a pleasurable
evening.