Well-acted story reminds us
of Robeson's brilliance, grit

By Diane Windeler
San Antonio Express-News


There is a telling moment near the beginning of the play "Paul Robeson" when college freshman Paul repeatedly asks directions to the dining room and is ignored. The year is 1915 and he is the only Negro student at Rutgers University. Finally, after pretending to be an illiterate kitchen helper, he has success. When Edgar L. Ward, as the dynamic, articulate Robeson, assumes that squeaky-voiced Step-n-Fetchit character, the audience reaction is an understandable mixture of laughter and heartache.

If the bitter anecdote is true, it captures the essence of why the charismatic singer-actor devoted his life to social activism and fighting for equality of class as well as race.

Ward turns in a compelling, vividly textured performance in Phillip Hayes Dean's one-man show, which runs through Feb. 9 at the Steven Stoli Playhouse.

The play is set up as a series of flashbacks beginning with a 75th birthday tribute at Carnegie Hall, told as if tuxedo-clad Robeson were chatting amiably with an audience. With minimal props and effective lighting, director Larry Schwartz keeps the segues smooth and natural. Atmosphere is enhanced with snippets of Robeson recordings.

Thus, while we knew he was an outspoken, world-renowned artist whose politics led to a career-shattering encounter with the dreaded House Un-American Activities Committee, we discover that Robeson was a star athlete, the valedictorian of his class at Rutgers and a graduate of Columbia Law School who faced such prejudice that he left the profession.

Robeson, who learned to sing as a child in church choirs, came to the stage through serendipitous accidents: amateur performances heard by influential people. Eventually, he was playing Othello or Joe in "Showboat," making "B" movies and finding acceptance without racism in Europe.

When he decided to return to the United States in the midst of the McCarthy era to use his fame as a means of speaking out against social injustice, he faced the greatest challenges of his life.

Handsome, tall and speaking with a resonant baritone, Ward slips easily and convincingly into the role.

Singing is kept to a minimum — mostly unaccompanied phrases — but he handles it well.

Perhaps more important, he and the Stoli company are focusing attention on a brilliant man whose near-forgotten legacy deserves to be re-examined.