The final seconds of the Afterthought Theatre Company’s “Waiting to Be Invited” are undeniably moving. Four black housewives clench hands, recite from Psalms and step together as one into an Atlanta department store to order a public lunch for the first time since the Supreme Court made racial segregation illegal in 1964.
But this bickering, blustering foursome are not just testing out their newly granted civil liberties. They fear they might be putting their lives on the line. Because the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not stop blacks from being persecuted overnight.
And a law that makes you allowed does not necessarily make you welcome.
One small step for mankind, indeed. And all for the simple right to eat alongside whites.
For blacks, the award-winning, Denver-born play “Waiting to Be Invited” is a call to remember. For whites, it is a call to imagine: Imagine not being able to walk into a public food court and order a lousy piece of pizza. Not being able to walk into a department store and try on a dress. It wasn’t that long ago.
And as several cast members asserted in a post-show talkback, in some ways, it hasn’t entirely ended.
“Waiting to Be Invited,” which might well have been titled “Not Waiting to Be Invited,” is a much-honored play the Denver Center Theatre Company premiered in 2000. First-time playwright S.M. Shephard-Massat humanizes the issue of embedded, institutional racism by way of three middle-aged women who work together in a doll factory. They are not pioneers or political rabble-rousers — just brave housewives.
Shephard-Massat wrote her play as a tribute to her grandmother, who was not a protester. “She wanted to be able to live her life with character,” she told The Post in 2000.
We accompany the elegant Miss Louise (Teresa Champion), the demure Miss Delores (Kenya Pollard) and feisty ringleader Miss Odessa (Lisa Young) in their Sunday finest as they catch a bus to the Marsh’s department store, where they are joined by a brash minister’s wife named Ruth who has a surprisingly checkered past (Karen Roberts Grissom).
While steadfast in their mission, these women are tense and fearful. What if they don’t get served? Or worse? Their banter makes plain the marginalization and atrocities that have brought them here. Adding some comic relief is the rather amusing conflict between the outspoken Odessa and the even more outspoken Ruth, and yet generations of oppression and violence hang over this play like a tarp.
Director Reynelda Snell starts with an upbeat Motown song list, some shaky production values — and an invincible script. But while she elicits strong individual moments, her actors are not yet fully comfortable and confident in their roles to collectively arrive at the full emotional truth of this very human piece.
And if this short play seems even shorter than it did in 2000, that’s because it is. A key scene on the bus that shows an entitled white woman moving Miss Louise out of “her” seat goes missing here. That’s not an artistic choice, but a response to a cast member having been hospitalized two days before opening. She won’t be replaced, which is unfortunate for everyone.
Nevertheless, the play builds to the inevitable confrontation that surely awaits these women … but we don’t see it. Shephard-Massat very purposefully focuses instead on the time building up to it. Whether they are welcomed, ignored or spit upon when they arrive is secondary to the act of bravery that got them here.
“A right unexercised,” my lawyer brother is fond of saying, “is nothing but a wish.” I never really got what his catchphrase meant until meeting these four women who took a wish, exercised it and, in their small way, changed their world.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
Waiting to be Invited” **
Racial drama. Presented by Afterthought Theatre Company at the Dayton Street Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora. Written by S.M. Shephard-Massat. Directed by Reynelda Snell. Through April 30. 85 minutes (includes intermission). 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 5:30 p.m. Sundays. $15-$25 (cash only). 720-365-7754 or afterthoughttheatre.com
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This week’s audio podcast: Jesse Johnson of “9 to 5”
In this week’s audio podcast, , who returns to Denver next week to play the son of Violet, among others, in the national touring production of “9 to 5,” playing April 26-May 8 at the Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets. Info: 303-893-4100 or . Running time: 8 minutes. To listen to their conversation, .
This week’s Best Bet: “9 to 5”
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The national touring production of “9 to 5” is the Broadway musical adaptation of the iconic 1980 girl-power film about three fed-up office workers who take out their revenge on a misogynistic boss. No Dolly Parton in Denver, but you will still hear 18 new songs she wrote for the stage reinvention. Taking Parton’s place in the lofty annals of buxomdom is “American Idol” runner-up Diane DeGarmo, pictured. The musical opens Tuesday, April 26, and plays at 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 7:30 p.m. Sundays through May 8 at the Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex. $20-$105. 303-893-4100 or 800-641-1222, at all King Soopers or .
This weekend’s other openings
“An Empty Plate in the Cafe du Grand Boeuf” On a hot July night in 1961, this “comic tragedy in seven courses” celebrates the joys of food, sex, bullfighting and the collected works of Ernest Hemingway. Through May 7. Presented by the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company at the Dairy Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-440-7826 or
“Hell Bent on the Tent” This original work by the Vaudeville Tycoon takes place in the early 1900s at Ambrose E. Bigtop’s Three Ring Circus. The show mixes classic elements of vaudeville and melodrama, and sprinkles pop-culture references spanning through today. Through May 8. At Theatre ‘D Art, 128 N. Nevada St., Colorado Springs, 719-357-8321
“Howl” This new theatrical adaptation of Allen Ginsberg’s seminal 1956 poem is not homage: It’s described as a real-time portal into the visions, omens, hallucinations, miracles and ecstasies of America then and now. Through May 6. Presented by Square Product Theatre at the Wesley Chapel, 1290 Folsom St., Boulder, 303-442- 0234 or
“Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad” This touring comedy, which mixes music, spoken-word and burlesque, and features rotating performers from Comedy Central. It’s “Fear Factor” for Jews although, we’re told, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love these broads.” Through Sunday. Saturday at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret, 16th and Arapahoe streets, 303- 293-0075 or ; Sunday at Avogadro’s Number restaurant, 605 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, 970- 493-5555 or .
“The Seagull” Anton Chekhov’s classic play, which is said to have launched modern theater, offers turn-of-the-last-century Russian characters at a lakeside estate who are all hopelessly in love, mostly with the wrong person. Through May 8. Presented by TheatreWorks at the Bon Vivant Theater, 3955 Cragwood Drive, Colorado Springs, 719-255-3232 or
“The Sound of Music” Classic musical about the young nun who leaves her convent to serve as governess to a widower’s seven mischievous “Do-Re-Mi”-singing children. Through May 1. CenterStage Theatre Company at the Louisville Middle School, 1341 Main St., 303-673-0744 or center
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page. Or check out our listings or
The Running Lines blog
Catch up on John Moore’s roundup of the latest theater news:
