I want to make clear, the title of Radio Golf had me puzzled. The words seemed to be something mentioned in the play, but why title the work that way? In the end I presumed playwright August Wilson meant for us to ponder this question. Which led me in turn to savor and contemplate this play very carefully. Again, I believe this was his intention.
This part of Wilson's Century Cycle focuses on the 1990s, in which a successful and fundamentally decent black businessman Harmon Wilks (Christian Telesmar) is getting ready to run for Mayor of Pittsburgh. Then, a snag wanders into his life and plans, a weird old man (Alex Morris) who insists he owns a house Wilks' company is about to demolish to make way for a major development, one that will help revitalize a down and out neighborhood called the Hills.
Now, in the best Movie of the Week fashion, one would expect some things to happen. Many do. In fact nearly everything one might expect to happen with that setup does indeed happen. But never, ever exactly the way one expects. Another reason I suppose Wilson intended up to keep looking at events, especially in terms of personal decisions made.
Yeah, the old man really does own that house. It was sold illegally. No, he does not want to be paid very generously for this house he has hitherto neglected. Nor, in the end, is he even willing to sign any papers to help Wilks save his ownership of said house. That would be too easy. Nor does Wilks wife (Sydney A. Mason) every really support him in this. She thinks her husband foolish, and the brutal truth is she suffers for not good reason simply by being in proximity to him. One of her personal dreams is utterly destroyed. Because he tried to do the right thing. But...she does not leave him. Nor support him. That is one of many, many things about this play that proves unexpected. Wilks' best friend (DeJuan Christopher) not only disagrees with him, find the whole notion stupid and wrong of what he's doing, but in the end betrays him in order to achieve his own dreams. He is not evil, though. He just has a different vision. One totally at odds with a man like the local carpenter (Matt Orduña) who is not even a little impressed by this man's money or connections or nice suits.
Yeah, a Carpenter. Some of this symbolism isn't that subtle, but somehow remains not as obvious as one expects.
This play shows amazing skill, leading the entire cast of characters into major turning points, all interconnected with one another. Each most cease to be what they were before, for better and for worse, and none--not even the one who benefits most--seem totally happy about it.
More, I don't know what any of these characters will do next. Everything has the emotional logic of human action, and the mystery of human choice. Very impressive.
To be honest, while I would easily give the script a grade of A, the cast overall gets a B. Here we have a very tricky play, with lots of needles that need threading, and in my view not all of them were. More than once obvious moments of silence were filled with pointless action or blocking. Others were filled with very powerful reactions as the characters felt the change in their lives ripple through themselves like a knife. Never bad. Always competent. Often very good. Sometimes excellent. But...uneven.
Which still makes for a fascinating event and story to behold.
Radio Golf plays Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. until November 13, 2022 at A Noise Within 3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107
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