As the lights came up at the conclusion of Bruce Graham’s latest play “White Guy on the Bus” now playing through May 22nd at Trenton’s Passage Theatre, the only thing I could say was “Wow.” Wow, in the best way possible. The play offers up a frank and unwavering look at racial perceptions, political correctness and leaves the audience asking, as the first question of the talk-back session which followed did, ‘who is the victim and who is the victimized.’
The play moves fluidly, under the deft direction of Michelle Tattenbaum, from the suburbs to a city bus. It begins mildly enough. We meet Ray, (Greg Wood), a successful middle-aged white Philadelphia suburbanite, who enjoys a career as a well-to- do financial manager. He is on the veranda overlooking his beautiful property with his blunt, but charming wife Roz (Susan Riley Stevens), their surrogate son Chris (Nate Washburn) and his girlfriend, and later wife, Molly (Laura Chaneski).
Ray is worried that he is becoming dull and talks about chucking it all, giving up “things” and enjoying life. Roz teaches in the inner city, and like so many teachers, battling against the poverty and instability of the lives of their protégés, has developed a love/hate relationship with her academic charges, but still picks one student per year to give extra time and attention to. Her “call ‘em, like I see ‘em” attitude is in stark contrast to Molly, who, while also an educator, is employed at an elite school in a decidedly more toney neighborhood. Chris, a doctoral student, is in the throes of developing Ph.D. thesis on the images of African-American males in advertising. As the quartet sip a crisp glass of Chardonnay, they discuss their perspectives on race and all that comes with it.
Interspersed with these tales from the burbs, we see Ray riding a bus and striking up a friendship of sorts with Shatique (Danielle Lenee). The story begins to heat up. Shatique is a bright young African American woman who works at a senior home, as she puts herself through nursing school. She is determined to make a life for her son, who lives with her mother, so that he doesn’t have to live in her tough neighborhood. As time passes we come to learn that this bus trip ends at a prison, where Shatique makes weekly visits to her brother.
Why is this white guy on the bus? Does he know someone at the prison? Although he appears very happily married to Roz, is he looking for something more from Shatique?
When we finally learn why Ray is on the bus at the end of Act I, it’s like a punch to the gut. The story comes off the rails for the rest of the evening.
Graham’s writing and Tattenbaum’s direction guide the cast away from clichéd stereotypes or preachy platitudes, which divide people into good and evil. Instead we see multiple layers of grey in the characters, their situation and their evolution.
Wood is absolutely enthralling to watch as Ray. He moves from affable husband and friend to determined manipulator so smoothly that you don’t realize it’s happened until it’s too late. Riley Stevens’ Roz is both dedicated and demanding as schoolteacher, but a blunt realist at the same time. She successfully walks the fine line that leads us to believe her devotion to teaching, while at the same time sadly understanding that she expects nothing more than small wins in her work. She often takes on the role of contrarian just for the heck of it. The interactions with Washburn’s very earnest Christopher and Chaneski’s politically correct Molly, serve as deliciously uncomfortable counterpoints in several exchanges with their elders. Lenee offers up a powerful performance as Shatique. She presents a fiercely determined woman who understands that she has no choice but to work hard to try and change the trajectory of her life and her son’s. As events unfold, she displays a sense of humanity and horror that are pitch perfect.
The play is bold and thought-provoking, with both in-your-face and subtle reminders that we’re talking about the uncomfortable subject of race. Graham offers the audience a great deal to chew on for an hour and forty-five minutes.
Jeffrey Van Velsor’s spare revolving set design, functions nicely to suggest the multiple locations in the story. Paul Kilsdonk subtle lightening, along with Robin I Shane’s costumes, enhances every scene. The sound design by Karin Graybash also provides an effective underscore throughout the evening.
Run, don’t walk, to catch the last few performances of “White Guy on the Bus.” You will not regret it.
Passage Theatre’s mission notes that the company is “…committed to the creation and development of topically relevant new plays…that transforms the lives of individuals and community. Consider me transformed.
White Guy on the Bus plays through May 22, 2016 at Passage Theater Company – 205 East Front Street, in Trenton, NJ. For tickets, call the box office at (609) 392-0766, or purchase them online.
Photos by Michael Goldstein
