DeSales Universitys Act 1s production of Lynn Nottages memory play "Crumbs From the Table of Joy" is as unforgettable in its opening as it is in its closing.
In fact, before the play even begins, as audience members are taking their seats, the plays three main actors who portray a father and his two daughters sit silently on stage at the funeral of their beloved wife and mother. Oldest daughter Ernestine clutches a portrait of her mother as the three lean into each other in their pain. As the strain of "Amazing Grace" waft on stage, they leave but not before Ernestine takes a rose and lays it at he edge of the stage.
It is a devastating beginning to a devastating play about loss, hope and resilience.
The play opens as the father Godfrey and daughters Ernestine and Ermina have moved to a small basement apartment in "the city" of Brooklyn from "the country" in Florida. Godfrey is following the preaching of radio evangelist Father Divine, to whom he has become devoted since his wifes death.
Gabrielle Mosley is outstanding as Ernestine, who is shy but determined, as she works to be the first in the family to graduate high school.
Mosley transitions seamlessly from character to narrator, turning from a scene to share her thoughts with the audience. An avid movie-goer, she also goes back and forth between her memories and the more romantic visions of how she wishes things had gone. But events always snap back to reality.
All three family members deal with the grief in their own way.
Kayman Browns desperate Godfrey grasps at religious fervor. He is lost, not even knowing how to reach his daughters except for the bags of cookies he always has in his pocket.
CaSandra Kay Danubio is all swagger and cockiness as Ermina, who keeps her anger barely concealed under the surface.
Into this tense family, comes Lily, their mothers sister, who shows up to help raise the two girls.
Lee Shaws Lily explodes on the stage and amps the household energy up, to the consternation of Godfrey and restrained delight of the girls.
Lily is well dressed and filled with talk of revolution and empowerment. Shaw is defiantly confident as Lily commands the stage every time she appears, even when she turns to alcohol as a coping mechanism.
Also memorable is Nicole Lawrie as German immigrant Gerte, whom Godfrey brings home unexpectedly as his new wife, after bonding with her over the cookies in his pocket.
Lawries Gerte is the comic relief as the naive but well-meaning white interloper in the family in which Godfreys frequent comment "they white" has always accentuated the racial division.
Director Paris Crayton III keeps the wordy play moving briskly and effectively uses creative movement as transitions between scenes, which adds to the continuity.
A highlight is when the three women perform an African dance as part of one of Ernestines fanatasies. The dancing choreographed by Jasmine Bright is very dynamic and exciting.
Will Neuert s set is unadorned and consists of a collage of period images and the text of the Langston Hughes poem "Luck" from which the name of the play came.
The play is recommended for ages 13 and up.
Performances are 8 p.m. Oct.20-22; 2 p.m. Oct. 23-24.
The Oct.23 performance will feature audio description for patrons who are blind or visually impaired. Tickets are half price for patrons using these services. Please call box office manager Kyle Schumaker at 610-282-3654, ext. 1 for information.
There also will be a virtual production of "Crumbs from the Table of Joy" that will stream from 10 a.m. Oct. 23 until 9:59 a.m. Oct. 24.
Ticket prices are $23 for adults and $21 for students and seniors on Monday to Thursday and $25 for adults and $23 for students and seniors on Friday to Sunday.
For information, call 610-282-3192, or go to tickets.desales.edu.