New Lab Theatre play hits sensitive issues with prejudices.
“Yellowman,” by Dael Orlandersmith, tells the story of prejudice based on skin color within the black community. Brandon Byrd stars as a light-skinned black man Eugene and Raven Massey as a darker-skinned black woman named Alma.
Throughout the play, which runs through Sunday at USC’s Lab Theatre, residents of a rural South Carolina community take out their frustrations with racial status on each other, creating to a brutal cycle.
The dark-skinned characters feel unloved, and the light-skinned characters feel persecuted, causing resentment and envy within the community. Light-skinned characters are called “yellow,” inspiring the title, “Yellowman.”
It’s through the relationship of Alma and Eugene that these racial tensions come to a head; they love each other in spite of color, but their families are burdened by a tremendous amount of racial baggage that weighs on the two characters.
The focus may be on a specific racial dynamic, but the message is universal.
“I hope that all audiences can see themselves in some part of this, no matter what their skin color,” said director Patti Walker. “This play is for everyone. … This is a play about prejudice, and prejudice exists in every culture.”
Actress Tiera Smith said she likes the play because it explains tension within the African-American community to people who don’t know how to ask.
“It just opens it up and give you a full-blown, raw scene of what goes on in an African-American community when it comes to race,” Smith said.
As originally written, the play features only two actors, who play both the main characters and an impressive host of side characters, but this production features an innovative turn that expands the cast list from two to 10.
“That it isn’t just two people on the stage adds a new level of tension, and challenge, and drama,” Walker said.
“Yellowman” is a departure from the vast majority of USC theater productions, featuring an all-black cast and telling a story specific to the African-American community.
“It bothers me,” said actor Olander Wilson, who plays Robert, Eugene’s father. “We’ve been doing this for the past three years, trying to get more African-Americans on stage, and in the past three years, we’ve probably seen a max of two African-Americans on the main stage.”
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