Pictured (l-r): Joshua J. Volkers, Rudy Galvan, Tamarus Harvell, Raphael Diaz, Matthew Garry, Juwan Lockett, Luke Daigle. Photo by Dean La Prairie. 

Review: NOT ABOUT NIGHTINGALES at Raven Theatre

By Jude Hansen

NOT ABOUT NIGHTINGALES is an incredibly tedious production fraught with some really puzzling directorial choices. Starting with the use of stepping routines, which were used to great effect in THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS and Oracle’s THE HAIRY APE, in this world they just don’t seem to fit. It’s clear that they are meant to indicate the laborious duties of the inmates (and then later also their riot!), but even in Williams’ surreal dream-like landscapes, they are simply jarring and out of place. In a lengthy play like this one, everything needs to propel the action along, and these sequences just draw it out.

The action focuses on Jim Allison (Brandon Greenhouse), a young man who has grown up within the prison system and possesses a wisdom beyond his limited experience. His survival techniques for this ordeal have also enabled him exposure to literature and therefore a capacity for self-education. Jim works within the system to attempt to guarantee himself a better future, with mild attempts to make it a better place for all the inmates. His coping mechanisms are in direct contrast to Butch (Joshua Volkers), who outright opposes the brutality by prison staff.

Much of this story relies on the transformation of Sophia Menedian as Eva Crane, the young woman driven to work at the prison due to financial hardships of the depression. As the outsider into this world, like us the audience, it is through her lens that we come to understand the harsh realities of the prison system. Unfortunately, Menedian isn’t up to the task and she is consistently disconnected from her scene partners. There is absolutely zero chemistry between Jim and Eva in this production. You would think that a man who has been in prison a decade and a woman in the 1930s would be somewhat aware that physical contact is a HUGE deal, but these actors touch each other and receive touches without acknowledging them or even a second thought that these actions could be indicative of their sexual desires.

In stark contrast, the two main players in the inmate uprising, Butch and Joe have incredible chemistry. You could be forgiven for believing it was their love story. I’m sure Williams would have been happy with that. Joshua Volkers as Butch is strong, brooding and relentless in his quest for his own humanity. Here is an actor who understands the slow burn that is typical of this era’s plays, finding the nuanced shifts in tactics that keep his scenes energized. Rudy Galvan as Joe makes intelligent choices, choosing the path of least resistance, acquiescing to Butch, but also posing as a formidable opponent when pushed too far.

In the rest of the cast, Jon Beal as Schultz, the primary guard, executes some really well-tuned fight choreography with graphic brutality. Raphael Diaz as Mex is so watchable and captivating in a role that is all but mute, somehow filling the lack of dialogue with activated physical presence (and he has a lot of stage time to fill). The choice to use the same actor to play Ollie and also the priest in the next scene, who comes to talk to the warden about Ollie’s death, is just puzzling and incongruent.

The staging itself is well done, but the action of the piece drags along to an unearned histrionic conclusion.