The smell of burning sage permeates the Aurora Fox theater before each performance of “Black Elk Speaks” as it did before every rehearsal, the producer has noted, when the cast — 80 percent of whom are American Indians — would form a circle for a blessing ritual.
By bearing witness, the audience, too, participates in a ritual.
Clearly, this production holds significance beyond typical theater. “Black Elk Speaks” relies on native storytelling traditions, dance and music to render a history lesson. It succeeds in telling 400 years of history; it is less successful as a stage production.
* * Stars | Historical Drama
Based on the 1932 book by John G. Neihardt and adapted by Christopher Sergel, and first produced at the Denver Center Theatre Company in 1993, the plays tells the story of the American Indians’ near extinction from their perspective.
The director of the Aurora Fox’s version, donnie l. betts, recalls watching the DCTC production from the wings (he was an actor with the company in another play at the time). He aimed to convey the spiritual aspect of the work.
For theatergoers, the show is less an entertainment than an accounting; less a theatrical spectacle than a summary of the genocide and treachery on the part of the U.S. government in dealing with the indigenous people. Again and again the American Indians’ shock and trauma is recounted, leaving the viewer stunned and saddened. But the delivery is less than theatrically transporting. The drama resides in the devastation of a civilization, rather than onstage.
The facts demand respect, and the tragedy is relevant at a time when ethnic cleansing and genocide continue. The dilemma for a viewer is the fact that the performances are quite uneven, the stagecraft less admirable than the intent.
The story is structured as a grandfather’s imparting of wisdom to an initially disinterested grandson. (played by Doug Good Feather) hands down the story of their people to grandson Hoksila (Jose Guerrero), a thoroughly modern young Indian in the 1930s, wearing a business suit and rejecting the old ways.
Playing multiple roles, including the white generals and government officials — a twist on the vintage Western movies that used white actors to play Indian parts — the actors relate the dark history from the time of Columbus to the massacre at Wounded Knee. The stories of Little Crow, Yellow Woman, Lt. Col. George Custer, Crazy Horse and the exploitative trip to England to perform for Queen Victoria in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show play out in what feels less like a drama than a pageant.
Good Feather is the focal point and the strongest voice, a profound but humble presence as he speaks and sings the sorrowful story. Mo Brings-Plenty, Elizabeth Standing-Bear, Satya Chavez, Jared Rains and others put their hearts into the work, which may have added impact for local audiences, knowing the Sand Creek Massacre took place not far away.
Musicians onstage, under the direction of Calvin Standing-Bear, provide expressions of nature, conflict and spiritual uplift.
The story is horrific but it ends in a sort of triumph. The planned extinction did not occur: these American Indians and “Black Elk Speaks” together remind audiences that they and their traditions are still very much present.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830, jostrow@denverpost.com or @ostrowdp
“BLACK ELK SPEAKS”
Based on the book by John Neihardt, adapted by Christopher Sergel. Directed by donnie l. betts. With Doug Good Feather, Mo Brings-Plenty, Calvin Standing-Bear, Rodrigo Tactaquin, Sarah Ortegon, Jared Rains. Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., Sundays 2 p.m.Through April 10 on the Aurora Fox Mainstage, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora. Tickets foxbox@auroragov.org or call 303-739-1970.
