The Aurora Fox has long been known for staging cult-hit regional comedies and capable-enough classics. But it’s been years since it’s been included in any serious discussion of the most mind-blowing theater in town.
They’ll be talking about “The Emperor Jones,” thanks in large part to the considerable, haunting presence of Keith L. Hatten in the title role. Remarkable, given that Eugene O’Neill’s odd, expressionistic ambiguity was for so many of its 88 years regarded as unplayable by anyone not named Paul Robeson.
Then came a 1998 modernistic New York revival that The New York Times listed as among the 25 theatrical productions that defined the 20th century. That production employed TVs, a wheelchair and even Kabuki soft shoe; Fox director donnie l. betts’ dance- infused staging seems downright primal by comparison. Rather than go for techno, betts goes for the rhythmic, pulsating, percussive and hypnotic — and it feels every bit as alive.
“The Emperor Jones” was O’Neill’s response to the American invasion of Haiti that began in 1915 and dragged on for 19 years. O’Neill imagines Brutus Jones as a black American railroad porter who kills two men and escapes to a West Indies island, where he ruthlessly rises to monarch within two years. Confronted with a tribal uprising against him that’s as imminent as the rising of the tide, he flees into the jungle, where he becomes gradually stripped of his regal persona, his clothes and his sanity.
But this plot is no attempted escape. It’s that classic descent into madness we read before in “Heart of Darkness” and saw afterward in “Apocalypse Now.” It is a phantasamagoric day of reckoning for a doomed man. Everything in this fascinating piece is open to personal interpretation. In Jones, some may see Marlow or Willard; others, shades of Rockefeller or Amin or Bush.
Apparitions are a driving force in the play — the script describes them as “little formless fears.” They are personified in a chorus of seductive and ephemeral dancers led by choreographer DeAndre Carroll. At first they confront Jones over his lifetime of crimes. But eventually, the motif changes from wrongs done by him to crimes done unto his ancestors. When this 1920s man finds himself as prime chattel at a slave auction, O’Neill has effectively turned an individual journey into a larger exploration of the black man’s collective American experience — for both have played a part in the making of this man.
Most perplexing to a recent audience was the penultimate confrontation between Jones and a green river, whose outstretched arms lunge at Jones, as if trying to pull him into the water with it. In O’Neill’s script, Jones is confronted by a crocodile head. What means betts by this switch?
Several theories were postulated at the post-show talkback, but not the one that occurred to me: Jones is a proudly fallen Baptist, and perhaps this river was his last chance at absolution, as if pulling him toward a baptismal cleansing. Instead, Jones evades the river’s grasp, and within moments he’s reduced to a grotesque, sprawling carcass, like King Kong fallen from the Empire State Building.
He is a man who has done wrong, and must answer for it.
The performance is laden with subjective symbolism playing against visceral realities. Most intoxicating is the constant, live, percussive underscore by drummer Fred “BaBa Ilu Ile” Jordan. His beats gradually rise throughout, slowly eroding the safe distance you feel at the start.
Hatten, long known for his fine work with the Denver Center Theatre Company, triumphs in a tour-de-force role, commandingly executing what has been aptly described as “a fever dream that turns into a nightmare.” From his opening scenes with unscrupulously charming Cockney predecessor Smithers (Greg Price at his best), to his sweaty, hallucinatory ruin, Hatten is a marvel to sit back and watch.
It all makes for a disorienting yet uncommonly imaginative night of theater. But should obvious parallels to a more recent American occupation evade anyone’s thinking, betts’ unscripted prologue drives the point home.
Did anyone just hear that drumbeat?
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
“The Emperor Jones” ***1/2 (out of four stars)
Aurora Fox, 9900 E. Colfax Ave. Directed by donnie l. betts. Starring Keith L. Hatten, Greg Price and Norma Johnson. 90 minutes with no intermission. Through May 11. 7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. $20-$24. 303-739-1970 or
This weekend’s theater openings
“Crimes of the Heart” Beth Henley’s ubiquitous weeper is set in Hazlehurst, Miss., where the three Magrath sisters have gathered to await news of the family patriarch, a grandfather living out his last hours in the local hospital. Their grave and yet somehow comic travails tell the story of how people can escape the past to seize the future. Through May 17. Victorian Playhouse, 4201 Hooker St., 303-433-4343 or
“Falsettos” This musical, winner of two 1992 Tony Awards, christens the Aurora Fox’s new 75-seat studio theater. It’s the tale of Marvin, who leaves his wife and young son to live with a man. His ex-wife marries his psychiatrist, and Marvin ends up alone. Two years later, Marvin is reunited with his lover on the eve of his son’s bar mitzvah, just as AIDS is beginning its insidious spread. And, believe it or not, it’s funny. Really funny. Through May 10. Next Stage Theatre Company at the Aurora Fox, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., 303-364-9998 or
“Thoroughly Modern Millie” This musical stage adaptation of the 1967 Julie Andrews film swept the 2002 Tony Awards on the pure charm of an unflappable flapper from Kansas determined to make it on her own in New York City. But ultimately, what’s so modern about Millie? Not much. She’s dead-set on marrying a man of means, and love will not interfere with her plan. Though set in 1922, this musical sets out to reject every saccharine musical cliche — and then, regrettably, repudiates itself in every way. Through May 4. Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, 303-987-7845 7845 or
“Rabbit Hole” David Lindsay-Abaire’s drama was last year’s surprise Pulitzer Prize winner (it was chosen even though it wasn’t even among the finalists). It’s about a married couple whose world is torn apart after a life-shattering accident. It’s a bittersweet search for comfort in the darkest of places. Through May 4. Lon Chaney Theatre, 221 E. Kiowa Ave., Colorado Springs, 719-573-7411 or
“Sylvia” A.R. Gurney’s melancholy canine comedy about a financial trader nearing retirement who brings a stray dog home from the park — and this “other woman” becomes a major bone of contention with his wife. A new spin on relationships that’s alternately funny and sad. Through April 27. Coal Creek Community Theatre at the Louisville Center for the Arts, 801 Grant St., Louisville, 303-665-0955 or
Compiled by John Moore
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of all current productions in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page
Weekly podcast
Running Lines with … Cameron Stevens. This week, John Moore speaks with the Horizon High School and University of Northern Colorado graduate who was featured in the 2003 national touring production of “Saturday Night Fever” and is now home to star in Next Stage’s “Falsettos.” . Then click on the miniplayer’s triangular “play” button, and the podcast will begin playing without your having to download. Or, right-click on the “download MP3” option to save a copy to your own desktop. Run time: 16 minutes.
Other events
Sunday. Speaker series. The Bas Bleu Theatre’s ongoing speaker series will feature Denver Post theater critic John Moore at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 20, at 401 Pine St., Fort Collins. Moore will be interviewed by Dr. Morris Burns for 40 minutes, followed by 40 minutes of questions and answers. Wine and cheese provided. $10-$15. 970-498-8949 or
Wednesday.Comedy theater. “Plays Well With Others” is a monthly, completely improvised long-form comedy show that pushes the limits of its actors and audiences. No two shows are ever the same. 7:30 p.m. the fourth Wednesday of every month at The Avenue Theater, 417 E. 17th Ave. $10; $5 to anyone currently enrolled in an improv class in the metro area. (303-321-5925).
