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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Safe House
Safe House is a fascinating mix of strangling, Chekovian limitations (in both business and romance), and a healthy dose of good old American suspense. Written by Keith Josef Adkins, it's based on his own ancestors' experience in antebellum Kentucky, as descendants of a white woman about three generations back. But the Pettigrew family's shoemaking business has been hobbled by suspicious white authorities, after they were caught helping a runaway slave. When traveling, they must keep identity papers with them, to be ready to explain their odd freedom. And the doors of their home must always be wide open, so the sheriff can watch for any renewed signs of the underground railway. You can feel the Kentucky heat right away, from the evocative set designed by Peter and Margery Spack. So, even though they're all legally free, the law is right on top of them all the time, even as the two brothers in the story (played by Daniel Morgan Shelley and Will Cobbs) occupy a love triangle. In the background, each member of the family measures out dwindling hope and perseverance in a way that may remind you of Uncle Vanya. But instead of Chekov's Professor Serebryakov, it's white Kentucky sheriffs and judges who pull the strings on the "free" blacks of Safe House. Chekovian anguish rings unmistakably throughout the long hot days, but their altruism brings us all to a seemingly impossible level of suspense—worthy of a Hitchcock or Scorcese. Mr. Shelley brings a dash of Willy Loman along with his sample case, selling custom-order shoes to white people across the countryside. We watch as a sort of invisible crater hollows-out his heart, each time he's turned away. Meantime, Mr. Cobb does well, in spite of being cast in what seems like one of those "victims from the future roles" of the kind we see occasionally in "Downton Abbey" or "Mad Men": unwittingly saddled with surprisingly modern sensibilities. In this case, a rebellious young man refuses to take a subservient role in this fine costume drama, which debuted in 2012. And, of course, being over 120 years ahead of his time doesn't make things any easier for Frank—or the rest of the Pettigrew family. Kelly Taffe plays their aunt, helping make the shoes that Addison (Mr. Shelley) peddles door to door. Through it all, her stoicism is lightly balanced by an unassuming visionary quality, at the fulcrum of great events. And Raina Houston is delightful as the young lady each brother hopes to wed. It should be a happy day, in act one: the end of their collective punishment. But free-spirited Frank threatens their futures all over again, and reports of another runaway (the riveting Cassia Thompson) will bring decency to a head-on collision with long-held dreams of success. Michael Sean McGuinness is excellent as a shambling white deputy, waxing full of a poor man's threadbare charm. Hope and fate run neck-and-neck, with lots of character-based twists and turns to keep up with. The story is top-notch, right along with the direction, acting, and production values. Through February 8, 2015, at the Emerson Studio Theatre of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, 130 Edgar Rd. For more information visit www.repstl.org. The Players Behind the Scenes
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