August Wilson, one of the most important playwrights in the 20th Century, created ten plays about the Black experience in America after Emancipation, going decade to decade. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is set in 1911 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In a stunning production from the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT), the story comes alive in the very capable hands of an outstanding cast and director Timothy Douglas.
Set in a boarding house owned by Seth Holly (Keith Randolph Smith) and wife Bertha (Stephanie Berry), boarder Bynum Walker (DeShawn Harold Mitchell), all live in relative harmony. Their peace is disrupted with Herald Loomis (Shane Taylor) and his daughter Zonia (Kerah Lily Jackson) ask for a room, and he tells Seth he is looking for his wife. Loomis is moody and distant and has travelled a distance since being separated from her under mysterious circumstances. At dinner, he erupts into screams and speaking in tongues, frightening everyone. Seth tells him he must leave after that, giving him a couple of days to find a room. Just as he is getting ready to leave, his wife Martha (Lilian A. Oben) appears, and he breaks down.
The “Joe Turner” referenced in the play is based on a real-life person, Joe Turney, the brother of Tennessee governor Peter Turney who illegally kidnapped Black men and forced them to work for him for seven years before releasing them. The implication was that Herald, a preacher, was captured by him, which destroyed his life. The play is about shared Black pain still resonating from the trauma of enslavement, that the loss of spirit and family nearly 50 years after gaining their freedom is not easily overcome.
A brilliant cast led by Keith Randolph Smith as Seth and Stephanie Berry as Bertha, plus Kaitlyn Boyer as Mattie Campbell, and Shane Taylor as Herald Loomis, tackle their roles with nuance and energy.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is an important work, the fourth of Wilson’s The American Century Cycle. The IRT’s production is luminous, exciting, and sometimes painful. The show continues through Feb. 22. Visit irtlive.com or call 317-635-5252 for shows and prices.
