In the opening seconds of Eisa Davis' play "Bulrusher," a young woman surrounded by a curtain of rain talks about her kinship with the river, but her tenuous connection with the people who surround her.
It's a poetic opening to a fascinating script that celebrates language, music, food and the natural world as well as the quirky characters who populate its pages. "Bulrusher" is a sprawling drama with its own regional dialect, songs and dancing, mystical elements and multi-locales -- a big undertaking for any theater and especially ambitious for small New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad.
On opening night last weekend, the production was still settling into place. The pacing was uneven, with some scenes dragging and others rushed to the point that the poetry of the language was lost. And while the comic aspects of the play were rock-solid, the more heartbreaking moments weren't yet resonating. More time will surely help this production solidify.
Set in the rustic Northern California town of Boonville in 1955, "Bulrusher" is the story of a young black woman searching for her place in the world. Boonville had its own quaint dialect and Davis luxuriates in the oddball phrase-ology (where "buzzchick" means baseball, "moshe" means car and cocked darley" means angry). The young girl's name, "Bulrusher," is the Boonville lingo for a foundling.
The tomboyish Bulrusher was abandoned as an infant by her mother -- set adrift Moses-style in a woven basket in the Navarro River -- and rescued from the bulrushes by the near-mute bachelor, Schoolch. Although Schoolch has raised Bulrusher as his own, she feels no kinship to him or anyone in Boonville. She's the only black person in town except for the Logger (a burly and jovial handyman who frequents the local whorehouse), and her refusal to speak the town dialect (or "harp the ling") makes her an outsider, despite the awkward but sincere romantic advances of the blue-eyed, blond Boy.
Bulrusher's only friend is the molasses-dark river (from which she draws her strength and her ability to read others' fortunes), until one day she meets Vera, a young black girl who arrives in town from Alabama for a visit with her uncle, the Logger. Bulrusher feels an instant mirrorlike connection with Vera, the first black female she has ever seen, and a kindred lonely spirit. They connect, spiritually and physically. But secrets from their past will force them apart and eventually heal their troubled spirits.
The play has a mythlike quality with fanciful riffs of hillbilly music, a high-stepping barn dance, a fistfight and some spirited splashing in the never-seen river. Because you'll see the play's big "surprise" twist coming a mile off, the focus becomes the journey. Many elements of the production -- directed and scenically designed by Kristianne Kurner -- make this a mostly satisfying trip, but some fine-tuning is still needed.
Starring in the play as Bulrusher is Jasmine Allen, a young actress with beautiful, expressive features and a youthful innocence. Her projection could be improved (her opening lines were near-impossible to hear on Saturday) and she needs to invest herself more in the poetry and despair of her character. Asia Nicole Jackson has the right rhythms, reserve and righteous anger for an Alabama girl who's faced bigotry and intimidation at close hand.
Sandra Ellis-Troy revels in the role of Madame, the sensuous but emotionally aloof brothel proprietress. Grandison M. Phelps III brings warmth and joy to the play as the happy-go-lucky Logger, though his flaws are apparent from the play's opening minutes. And Jack Missett says a lot with very little dialogue as Schoolch, Bulrusher's adoptive father who has spent the past 20 years unsuccessfully courting Madame in her whorehouse parlor. The cast's revelation is Tim Parker, who gives an unorthodox, unpredictable and thoroughly engaging performance as the dim-witted but big-hearted Boy.
Kurner's set is a complex trio of raised platforms backed by rustic tree trunks and water elements that bring together all of the play's varied locales, and they're beautifully lit by Ashley Jenks. Amanda Morrow served as assistant director. Mary Larson designed the costumes. And the homespun sound design -- with twangy old-timey songs like "Sweet Jerk," "Apples in a Pot" and "Thorn, Spine and Thistle" -- was created by Adam Brick and Joshua Everett Johnson.
The play feels long at two hours, 50 minutes, with intermission. The final 20 minutes seem especially slow, but hopefully they'll pick up as the run continues.
"Bulrusher" has its magical moments and they often sparkle in the rangy New Village Arts production. Once the cast lives their roles a little longer and deeper, the power of the play will surely shine through.
"Bulrusher"
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; through March 21
Where: New Village Arts Theatre, 2787 B State St., Carlsbad
Tickets: $30, general; $25, seniors, students and military
Phone: (760) 433-3245
