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Regional Reviews: St. Louis The Dance on Widow's Row
And while the script for The Dance on Widow's Row is only somewhat more entertaining than the phone book, the play becomes a magically enthralling thing in the hands of this St. Louis Black Repertory ensemble. They make it all so much better than it is on paper, under the direction of company founder Ron Himes, who previously produced the comedy in 2007. And the day I attended production, Mr. Himes also perfectly stepped in for the excellent actor J. Samuel Davis, who was out. The whole show runs as smoothly as a Swiss watch in this 49th season Black Rep production at Washington University's Edison Theatre. Samm-Art Williams penned the two hour and fifteen minute sitcom (with intermission), which had its debut in a limited run in New York in the summer of 2000 at the Henry Street Settlement's Harry De Jur Playhouse, produced by the New Federal Theater. Mr. Williams is best known for 1980's Home. Here, in The Dance On Widow's Row four women gather together to entertain unmarried local gentlemen in spite of their own rivalries and reputations. It could be seen as a sassy Arsenic And Old Lace. The final scenes are the most original part, as the women (with a cast led by the heartwarming Denise Thimes as Magnolia) pour forth with a long list of ways to preserve a dead body. A dance around a corpse seems strangely fascinating, given the high quality of performances, and all the comical murderous background in the story. Long before that, in act one, the women fondly remember their combined total of nine dead husbands, according to the size of each man's life insurance settlement. Velma Austin is tenaciously terrific as Simone, an actress with a flair for a put-down. Tiffany Tenille is very fine as the bible-thumping Annie, who later causes an uproar. And Margery Handy is delightful: flirtatious and commanding by turns, and sputtering when she's accused of poisoning the hors d'oeuvres. A.C. Smith is wonderful as Deacon Hudson, with the occasional rhetorical flourish and miles of humanity as one of the prospective future dead husbands. Isaiah DiLorenzo is great fun strutting and joshing as Randolph, a flashy bachelor in a glowing silver suit by costume designer Brandin Vaughn. And while J. Samuel Davis is always top notch on stage, it was a pleasure to see director Himes step into his part, a sort of cowardly lion named Newly, one of the reluctant suitors. Mr. Himes drew fresh new circles of stage comedy in Mr. Davis' stead. Stepping back, it's far more common to find things the other way around when you go to the theatre: to find a great script performed by–well, by actors of my own calibre. But here you can almost ignore the dialog as these actors weave their spell. Tim Jones provides the elegant set, with lights by Sean Savoie and a romantic sound design by Kareem Deanes. It's all strangely exciting, the way the ensemble holds your attention, in this slightly morbid bit of fluff. On stage, they create a resonance that's utterly captivating. The Dance On Widow's Row, produced by The St. Louis Black Repertory, runs through January 25, 2026, at the Edison Theatre, 6445 Forsyth Blvd., St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.theblackrep.org. Cast: Production Staff: |
