THE unusual venue in which it is being performed adds a chilling emotional resonance to “Emancipation,” Ty Jones’ new play about the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner being presented by the Classical Theatre of Harlem. It is the Audubon Ballroom, located on upper Broadway, where Malcom X was assassinated in 1965.
Fully renovated, the interior bears no resemblance to what it looked like on that fateful day, although the life-size statue and wall-length mural depicting the slain civil rights activist provide ample reminders.
Jones, who also stars in the leading role, has delivered a fast-paced and frequently gripping account of the brief, Turner-led insurrection, which resulted in the killings of dozens of white slave owners and his own eventual hanging.
Performed on an elevated, simple wooden stage surrounded by footlights, the production has a not inappropriate presentational, Greek-tragedy style, complete with brief musical interludes.
The nonlinear narrative is not always clear at times, and there is an oblique quality to much of the proceedings. The character of Turner himself never quite comes into focus, and Jones’ less-than-nuanced portrayal doesn’t help.
Still, the play has an undeniable power, thanks to the subject matter and the highly forceful staging and performances.
Indeed, the scene in which one of the most brutal whites (Happy Anderson, delivering an admirable, no-holds-barred turn) spits repeatedly into the shackled Turner’s face produced gasps from the audience – exactly the sort of reaction that Jones was no doubt hoping to elicit.
EMANCIPATION
The Malcom X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center, 3940 Broadway; (212) 868-4444.