by Joel Elkins~

The Towne Street Theatre Company, formed in the aftermath of the LA riots with the mission of healing wounds through theatre, seems the natural venue for the world premiere of Langston & Nicolas, the story of the relationship between Langston Hughes and Cuban poet laureate Nicolás Guillén. Through fictionalized conversations between the two, flashbacks, musical numbers and reenactments of the poets’ own works, the play explores these two poets’ enduring friendship.

The action begins in 1930 in Havana where the two men first meet as Nicolás interviews Langston for a Cuban magazine. Initially, the emphasis is on the parallels in their lives. Of mixed race, they both primarily identified with their African ancestry. Both rejected the career paths laid out by their fathers – Langston’s father wanted him to become an engineer and Nicolás turned his back on law school – in order to effectuate social change through their poetry. However, as the play and their lives develop, the two head in different directions. Nicolás maintains his idealism, willingly going into exile rather than renounce his socialist views. Langston, on the other hand, goes before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and publicly denies any connection with the Communist Party. When Langston admits to the allure of material wealth and refuses to apologize for his modest financial success, Nicolás chastises him for his devotion to “the almighty dollar.” In a way, the Nicolás character assumes the role of Langston’s conscience, much as Che does in “Evita.”

At one point, the play hints that there might have been more to their relationship, consistent with suggestions of homosexuality that had dogged Langston Hughes most of his life. Nicolás summarily denies the accusation, but the play never definitively answers the question. In general, the play seems content to present facts on a superficial level, allowing the men’s works to speak for themselves and the audience to glean what it chooses from that.

Casting directors (Nancy Cheryll Davis and Veronica Thompson) get an A for the casting of Justin Alston and Brian Evaret Chandler as the younger and older Langston Hughes, respectively. They both give solid performances and are remarkably similar in appearance and speech, making the passage of time virtually seamless. On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, was the casting of Chris Rivas and Armando Ortega as Nicolás Guillén. Although they do capable work in the roles (particularly Ortega as the older Nicolás), they do not look at all alike and furthermore are not even dark-skinned. Not only is this historically inaccurate but it is incongruous with the play, which specifically makes a point of Nicolas Guillen’s dark appearance. In fact, one could argue that a major underlying theme of the play is the contrast between the treatment of blacks in America versus Cuba. Casting a light-skinned Nicolas severely diminishes that entire aspect of the play and of the relationship at the center of it.

The rest of the ensemble cast does serviceable work, with a few standout performances, most notably Tené Carter Miller in the moving Hughes poem “The Negro Mother.”

The set and lighting by Nathaniel Bellamy incorporates some of the most visually engaging use of audio-visual I have seen in small theater. (My only quibble would be the unartful method employed for background “fadeouts.”) Kudos also to Nancy Reneé for her extensive assortment of period costumes. Maggie Palomo helped make the dialects as true to life as possible, although sometimes so much so that it was difficult to understand at times.

Langston & Nicolasis performed Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm through May 2, 2010

The Stella Adler Theatre is located at 6773 Hollywood Blvd., at Hollywood and Highland

Ticket prices: $25 (Seniors/members of performing arts unions: $15; Students: $10)

Reservations online at www.townestreet.org or by phone at (213) 624-4796.