Pure  Life  Theatre's  Production  of
Samm-Art  Williams'  Home  Soars!

Asheville, NC-born novelist Thomas Wolfe once asserted You Can't Go Home Again (1940). Burgaw, NC-born playwright Samm-Art Williams' 1979 Off-Broadway and 1980 Broadway play, Home, just might put that theory to the test.

The theater world lost a bright light when Samuel Arthur Williams passed away on May 13, 2024, in his native North Carolina. The current Broadway revival of Home -- his 1980 Tony®-nominated play -- was just starting previews that week.

Cutting to the chase, let me state:

I highly recommend Pure Life Theatre's production of Home, which has only two more performances -- at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, June 19th and 20th -- in Burning Coal Theatre Company's Murphey School Auditorium in Raleigh. Director Jade Arnold has brought together all the right elements and set a swift-yet-comfortable pace for this 90-minute piece.

Even though I am not comfortable with the idea of rating the work of any playwright as "his best," I must say that Home is definitely among Williams' most remarkable works. Hauntingly beautiful, lyrical from start-to-finish, alternately realistic and surreal, and always smoothly flowing, Home makes expert use of several theatrical "devices" as it brings to life the story of Cephus Miles, an honest, hard-working, dirt-poor (yet optimistic) North Carolina farmer who loses everything because of a decision to be true to his personal convictions. This is a "memory play," narrated by Miles, so everything we see and hear is filtered through his recollections of his experiences.

The Play:

Three actors -- Ajani Kambón as Cephus Miles, Moriah Williams as Pattie Mae Wells/Woman One, and TyDiam Coleman as Woman Two -- remain on stage the entire time.

At first, Kambón is "old Cephus" the storyteller who sits in an equally old porch rocking chair, narrating the story of his life. He then steps into the role of "young Cephus" who acts out various anecdotes and episodes, moving back-and-forth between actor and narrator.

Williams and Coleman at times portray a variety of people who had been part of Cephus' life. At other times, they function like the "chorus" in ancient Greek drama, sometimes speaking simultaneously, sometimes antiphonally, always informing, commenting, setting the mood. At still other times, they seem to be Cephus' internal "demons," reminding him, warning him, and scolding him.

At lights-up, we hear a hearty, soulful rendition of a song -- "In the Great Gettin' Up Mornin'," and then see Williams and Kambón as they mime physical farm-work by chopping and digging in the soil. The synchronized sound effects during this scene are quite impressive.

Then the story begins. We get descriptions and acting out of young Cephus' fun (and not-so fun) adventures, his courting of (and falling in love with) Pattie Mae (his childhood sweetheart), his religious experiences (both in and out of church). Eventually, Pattie Mae leaves to go to college, and we hear her say, "I've outgrown the land. I've outgrown you."

Shortly thereafter, we learn that "There's a War Goin' On." Cephus is convinced that his convictions to "Thou shalt not kill" and "Love thy neighbor" prevent him from going to war, and he is arrested as a draft evader. During his five years in prison, his land is seized for nonpayment of property taxes.

Upon his release, he feels called to go to New York City (where he can listen to blues and jazz all night), and a whole new chapter begins -- at first bright and happy, eventually spiraling down until he reaches the rock-bottom of unemployment, homelessness, and addiction.

No spoiler here, because we know all the time that he will eventually return home and tell this story from his porch rocker, but we feel the depths of his losses and broken dreams along the way.

The Acting:

Kambón deftly navigates the different ages and experiences of his character. Postures, expressions, and qualities of voice combine to convincingly create the transitions. And he steps back-and-forth between "character" and "narrator" just as expertly.

Williams and Coleman create a wide variety of personalities for the characters that they portray. Bus driver, welfare case worker, Sunday School teacher, pastor, jailer, wino, drug dealer -- these two have them covered. Adding a hat, a scarf, a helmet, or a jacket here and there helps; but it is the skill of these actors that makes everything work.

As Pattie Mae, Williams is sweet and earnest. Coleman is just as convincing in her role as Cephus' good-time New York girlfriend who flies-the-coop when he loses his job.

And in their roles as both "chorus" and "demons" Williams and Coleman positively shine; it is impossible not to love their work.

The Tech:

Costume designer Jennifer Gainey Ijeoma has supplied the actors with costumes that are "neutral enough" to be easily correct (or correctable) for every stage of the story.

The set, co-designed by Deb Royals and Wendell Scott, is appropriately spare and easily converts to a jail cell, a club in NYC, a hayloft, a church, etc.

Sound designer Jireh Ijeoma supplies sound effects that are quite believable (eerily so at times).

Lighting designer Landon Carson has also contributed to the shifting locations and moods of the piece.

Nice Touches:

• Kambón's delivery of the various narratives, including interactions with a phony "Indian," shooting dice in a cemetery, a fight between a chicken and a dog, how a guitar player lost an arm, and having to cut his own switch with which to get punished.
• The addition of glasses and a mimed typewriter in one sequence
• Segments in which one of the choric figures narrates while the other "sings backup."
• The segments of pure poetry, interspersed with the narrative
• The projection of a HUGE full moon on the upstage wall during a poignant scene
• A phone call to Miami (see below).

Memorable Lines:

• "Children casting stones at my house."
• "When you hold a plant, you feel the heartbeat of God."
• "I believed in God until he took a vacation to Miami."
• "Cussin' runs in my family."
• "I got religion last night at revival meeting."

From the Department of Picky-Picky
(and this one is oh-so-picky):

Although the mimed typewriter sequence was otherwise expertly executed, Coleman typed an incredible number of words but only returned the carriage once.

The Bottom Line:

I met Sam-Art Williams a little over 20 years ago when I played one of the two "white guys" in a staged reading of one of his plays. It was during the talkback following that reading that I got an example of his gentle wit. A woman in the audience posed a question. Rather than answer it, the director responded, "Why don't you ask the playwright? He's sitting right beside you." Her response: "Wow! I had no idea!" Williams quipped, "That's because I'm incog-Negro."

Home is a very enlightening and engaging look into the life of Cephus Miles (which enables us to walk "miles" in his shoes -- sorry about that!). Set in the late 1950s through early 1970s, it touches on issues such as segregation, racism, and the Vietnam war, without ever dwelling on them or becoming "preachy." The humor is gentle, and Kambón's Cephus Miles is extremely sympathetic and likeable.

So, I repeat: I highly recommend Pure Life Theatre's production of Home. You have only two more chances to see it -- at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 19th, and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 20th.

Home stars (from left) TyDiam Coleman as Woman Two, Moriah Williams as Pattie Mae
Wells/Woman One, and Ajani Kambón as Cephus Miles (photo by Edith Berry)

Samm-Art Williams' HOME (In Person at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, June 19th and 20th), directed by Jade Arnold, presented as part of Burning Coal's Second-Stage Series, and starring Ajani Kambón as Cephus Miles, Moriah Williams as Pattie Mae Wells/Woman One, and TyDiam Coleman as Woman Two (Pure Life Theatre in Burning Coal Theatre Company's Murphey School Auditorium in Raleigh). PROGRAM: https://burningcoal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Second-Stage-2024-Digital-Program.pdf. PRESENTER: https://www.purelifetheatre.com/, https://www.facebook.com/purelifetheatre/, https://www.instagram.com/purelifetheatre/, and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc4CsZ5WoMaPwoHtKjCHLxA. 2024 SEASON: https://www.purelifetheatre.com/upcoming-events. VENUE: https://burningcoal.org/plan-your-visit/ and https://burningcoal.org/history-of-the-murphey-school/. DIRECTIONS/PARKING: https://burningcoal.org/plan-your-visit/. HOME (1979 Off-Broadway and 1980 Broadway play and 2024 Broadway revival): https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=1321, http://www.iobdb.com/Production/2408, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/home-3953, https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2023-2024-season/home/, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/home-538206, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_(Williams_play). THE SCRIPT (excerpts): https://books.google.com/books. SAMM-ART WILLIAMS (Burgaw, NC-born playwright and screenwriter, nee Samuel Arthur Williams. 1946-2024): https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/about/our-blog/samm-art-williams-a-biography/, https://www.dramatists.com/dps/bios.aspx?authorbio=Samm-Art+Williams http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/5544, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/samm-art-williams-8587, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samm-Art_Williams. CONTENT ADVISORY: Language, Suggestive Intimacy. TICKETS: $32.50 ($20 Youth 12 and under,$28 students 13+, and $30 seniors), except $26 per person for groups of 10 or more, plus taxes and fees. Click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: 919-839-9505 or purelifetheatre@gmail.com. PLEASE DONATE TO: Pure Life Theatre and Burning Coal Theatre Company.

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