There is a scene in Charles Smith’s Free Man of Color at the African American Repertory Theater where the character of John Newton Templeton stands shirtless, resolute and defiant in the face of his white mentor, that sends the powerful message that this is a play, actor, and theater that will not be overlooked.
Smith, an Emmy Award-winning playwright and distinguished professor has written a play that is based on the fascinating true story of Templeton (Christopher Dontrell Piper), “the first freed slave to graduate from Ohio University.” It is a history lesson of a forgotten figure that is more like an inspirational education in humanity as a whole. It tackles multiple themes: the restricted roles of women, the inhuman treatment of natives, what is a free man, and more.
Regina Washington makes her directorial debut with this play, though you would not know it given the deft hand she employs in her artistic vision. Her background as an award-winning actor serves her well as she utilizes an understated style to highlight Smith’s poetic script.
The play opens with the strains of a violin playing “Amazing Grace.” It is Athens, Ohio in the 1820s. Bob Lavallee’s set depicts the interior of Reverend and Mrs. Robert Wilson’s (Vince Davis and Mary-Margaret Pyeatt) home with period-looking furniture, and outlined in the classic university columns with the words “Religion, Morality, and Knowledge” emblazoned above the stage. The scenes flash back and forth in the events of Templeton’s life, mostly covering his time as a student at Ohio University.
The focus is on his tenuous mentor/mentee relationship with University President Wilson, and his prickly wife. Reverend Wilson believes that God has chosen the seriously bright and gifted John to lead his people, but only if they do it elsewhere in far-off Liberia. Templeton is a “free thinker” who can decide for himself, and soon becomes less than content with being someone’s pet project.
Piper (fantastic in last year’s The Shipment at Undermain Theatre) delivers a controlled, yet livewire performance that is mesmerizing. The metamorphosis he undergoes from earnest young man happy to be a student to an independent man of principle is an absorbing bit of acting prowess. Davis’ well-meaning groomer is a ball of mind and speech energy. He claims that he “answers to God” and we believe his conviction. Pyeatt as Mrs. Wilson skillfully plays a skeptical figure in Templeton’s life who is seemingly disdainful and contemptuous, yet is hiding many complicated levels. The scrim actors (Stephen Smith, Kameron Marable, and Ursula Walker) also do a fine job depicting tiny vignettes behind the action.
Costumes by Rhonda Gorman with detailed, early 19th century high collars, tails, and boots for the men and house dresses for Mrs. Wilson are not just afterthoughts. It all goes to show why African American Repertory Theatre may be the “best kept secret in DeSoto” for a few seasons now, but with new funding from TACA and productions like this one, it shall not be hush-hush for much longer.
