‘I AM DELIVERED’T’ @ Dallas Theater Center
—Chris Sanders
I AM DELIVERED’T had its world premiere at the Kalita Humphreys Theater this month. It’s the latest show from Texas-born Jonathan Norton—currently the playwright-in-residence of the Dallas Theater Center—and follows the story of four parishioners of a "missionary Baptist" church congregation in South Dallas. As the play goes on, the four characters react to, argue about and try to survive church politics, church relationships, and church hurts...all on a Good Friday that ought to be subtitled: "Jesus wept."
Our party of four consists of veteran church usher Sis, played by Liz Mikel; less experienced usher Pickles, portrayed by Zachary J. Willis; Breedlove, a vocal church stalwart played by E. Faye Butler; and the mysterious Effie—portrayed by Naiqui Macabroad—whose connections to the others only slowly become clear..
The entirety of the play takes place in the church’s utilitarian parking lot, not in the church itself, where the Good Friday "Seven Words" liturgy is being enacted. The glass doors smack open, and Breedlove is briskly dragged out of the service by Sis and Pickles, for her protection and that of the other parishioners. Why, one may ask? Because she is writhing and speaking in tongues in the midst of her deliverance.
Sis and Pickles settle her in a folding chair, and offer a cold drink. They don't look a bit surprised; this is her style.
Breedlove is a woman with a lot of baggage, and potentially more demons than she might be able to navigate through the course of the play. Butler gives an honest portrayal of Breedlove battling with who she is versus what she's been taught to believe in.
Part of her baggage is shared with Sis, a longtime member and usher of the church. Ms. Mikel portrays the complexities of a woman who devotes her time to a church home that accepts her service, but cannot seem to accept every aspect of her. Mikel shows the tough edges and soft vulnerability of a woman undervalued for who she loves. She helps to make the character human and relatable.
Pickles and Effie are two sides of a coin: two individuals enamored with the same man, hurt by him, by church politics, and by each other. Willis and Macabroad were a joy to watch, as the audience witnessed the growth of their respective characters. Willis brought a bubbly joy to Pickles, while also showing the possessive nature of the character when he feels his love life is threatened. Macabroad did good work displaying Effie's confused emotions, which contain both cynicism and hope.
The set design is by Jason Ardizzone-West, the lighting by Yuki Link, and the sound design by G. Clause. All these elements add a sense of reality and more.
Set and lighting, of course, work together to create the look and feel of the church setting—a plain exterior with splashes of color as the stained glass windows light up. One of the first things I noticed as I looked at the stage were security cameras placed all along the L-shaped church walls, and leading to the parking lot. My hope upon seeing these eyes-in-the-sky was that they would be utilized at some point in the play. And the play “delivered’t,” with several mentions of the cameras and even direct addresses to them—though we don’t see who may be watching on the other end.
As for sound, hymns were heard faintly throughout the show, played inside the walls as part of the church service. Most of the music served to add background and mood, though I’d be curious to know if these praise songs were chosen at random, or if each was specifically curated for their moment in the story.
As someone in-between churches, I could connect with the desire to leave the faith due to the infamous church hurt. I also related to the joy of deliverance, when one returns as a prodigal child. While God is ordained as perfect, the people who follow Him are very much flawed. In this play, some of the most flawed and harmful characters are the ones we, as an audience, never see. Those would take the roles of the hypocritical, self-righteous Pharisees.
And in their absence, we find ourselves rooting for the people who would be deemed the “sinners,” “adulterers,” and “money collectors.” The people Jesus spent most of His time with. Whether playwright Norton intended this or not is beyond me, but it does fascinate me nonetheless.
I resonated with Robert Barry Fleming’s direction of I AM DELIVERED’T, and it is wonderful to know the production will be continuing at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Fleming’s artistic home in Kentucky—where he serves as the Executive Artistic Director.
I wonder how many of the Dallas jokes and references the Louisville locals will appreciate—but hope the play’s relatable themes and characters will transcend the potentially isolating issue of location.
WHEN: February 2-18, 2024 (closed; production moving to Louisville KY)
WHERE: Dallas Theater Center, Kalita Humphreys Theater
WEB: dallastheatercenter.org and actorstheatre.org (March 13-24)
