Superior Donuts: Not Perfect, But Satisfying Production at Lyric Stage

SUPERIOR DONUTS
Play by Tracy Letts
Directed by: Spiro Veloudos. Set, Matthew Whiton. Lights, Shawn Boyle. Costumes, Mallory Frers.
At: Lyric Stage Company of Boston, through Feb. 4. Tickets: $27-$60.
617-585-5678


"Superior Donuts" is a drama that connects an older man’s secret sense of shame with a younger man’s salvation from the path of crime and poverty that plagues inner city youth.

Chicago is a tough, turf-oriented, multi-racial, multi-cultural city, raw with racism, conscious and unconscious, and huge cultural divides. All of it shows up during business hours in Superior Donuts.

With nine characters sharing the stage, there are several stories spooling out at the same time but the central one is of that Arthur Przybyszewski (Will Lebow), owner of Superior Donuts, a store he’s worked in since his father collapsed and died behind its counter years ago.

Art is divorced, lonely, and burdened with the shame of the cowardice that was at the root of his resistance to the draft in the Vietnam War. He has closed himself off from the world.  After a slow start, Act One gets off the ground like a Roman candle when 21 year-old Franco Wicks (Omar Robinson) shows up in the family donut shop.

It takes time to see that the brash, creative ways Franco tells Art to improve his business are real, not a way to hustle or con him. Omar’s rapid-fire monologues about white people are Richard Pryor Lite, delivered with observation, not malice, and disarmingly funny. It’s his way of connecting with Art and testing him. It also offers a counterpoint to the racism of Max Tarasov (Steven Barkhimer), the Russian entrepreneur who owns the shop next door. Max wants to expand. Art won't sell.

The play establishes its first beachhead when Franco tells Art he’s written a novel. “America Will Be,” the “next great American novel.” When Art wins a bet by naming ten black America poets, Franco has to let him read it. A voracious reader, Art is impressed.

Will Lebow (left), as store owner Arthur, and Omar Robinson, as young assistant Franco, in Lyric Stage Company’s “Superior Donuts.’’ (Mark S. Howard)

It’s not clear where the play is going until the last minutes of Act One in which a loan shark shows up in Art’s store. Franco is in serious arrears with a debt from a bad betting habit. It is clear his safety is going to be at risk.

The play lags from time to time. The introduction of Officer James Bailey (De’Lon Grant) and Officer Randy Osteen (Karen McDonald) in the play’s opening moments permits playwright Letts to pursue the topic of racism and present a possible love interest to Art, whose lame social skills are tutored by Franco.

Letts telegraphs where the action in the second act is heading but the resolution is touching nevertheless. The interaction between Art and Osteen is sometimes distracting. Karen McDonald's (Officer Osteen) effort to introduce humor in her character comes across more as caricature than character. De’Lon Grant as Officer James Bailey is plausible as a caring young black cop and Max Tarasov’s (Steven Barkhimer) racism is more comical than corrosive. Will Lebow, a riveting force on any stage, allows himself to disappear in the role of Art, which makes the interplay and the rest of the cast more grounded. Robinson's strong performance is the thread that holds the play together.

Art, introverted by his sense of shame, has long given up on feeling connected to others. Franco’s persistence in showing up at work, trying to learn how to make a tasty donut, and the questions he asks Art about his past, give Art a reason to face his demons once and for all. The last touching scene shows that Art's choice to stand up for Franco might be the catalyst to motivate Franco to overcome the odds and rise above his environment.

++++
Afterword
I don’t profess to have broad knowledge of the Boston theater scene but I’ve seen more African-American actors perform at The Lyric Stage than any other theater in the past two years (Superior Donuts, Lady Day Sings The Blues, Broke-Ology, for example). Applause to Producing Artistic Director Spiro Veloudos for offering more roles to black actors.  Boston’s next challenge is to draw more African-Americans into the theaters. A production like Superior Donuts is a start.

Comments

[Debbie Soglin]

always enjoy your reviews. excellent point in your afterword.

[Paul Tamburello]

Thanks for the comment, Debbie.
According to Nielson ratings, "African-Americans are the largest minority segment of the U.S. television household population, comprising approximately 13 percent of the 109.6 million TV households. African-Americans generally watch more television than other segments of the population, and their viewing behavior, in terms of the highest-rated television programs, differs from the rest of the population."

Productions like those at the Lyric Stage (esp. ones like "Broke-Ology" with a black cast,writer and director) are key to attracting a black audience to the theater. The fact it was so well received by a white audience proves it can be financially successful as well.

http://www.nielsenmedia.com/ethnicmeasure/african-american/indexAA.html

[Sara Glidden]

Thank you for sending this – and thank you for your comment at the end about on-stage diversity. We have been really fortunate to find plays that we care about that showcase terrifically rich and diverse community of actors in the Boston area. We hope in time to have an equally diverse community in our audience.

[Ann Baker]

My sentiments exactly. And didn't Will and Omar do a very good job with a slight play ?

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.]

Sara,
Lyric is leading the charge... onward! I'll bet you are looking to increase off-stage diversity, too. It hadn't occurred to me to consider that angle as a way to reach a more diverse audience.