Lynn Nottage's language is both simple and brutal, but the two words, individually, deliver a far greater impact than just saying "brutally simple." Her play, "Ruined," now at the Grandel Theatre in a powerful production by the Black Rep, is a keening, passionate scream at the world to awaken those who can save women from the brutalities inflicted on them every day. It is even more important today, as rape is being used as a weapon of war.
Nottage's play, which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama two years ago, shows a heritage of Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage and Her Children," a searing tale of women and children trying to escape from war. Mother Courage, a seller of food, tries fiercely to remain neutral, alienating both sides instead of neither. The play is set in the17th century, during the Thirty Years' War, but was written in 1939, as Europe was on the brink of World War II.
Mama Nadi (a superb Andrea Frye) runs a bar and brothel in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, selling whiskey and beer, renting her girls, not caring what her customers believe but satisfying their earthly tastes. Her No. 1 girl is Josephine, played with a hard, brittle, unloving sexiness by Patrice McClain, who drinks too much and winds up (or whines up) talking about how her father was a chief.
Christian (exciting work from J Samuel Davis, as always), a salesman and friend, comes to call one day and along with the chocolates, tampons, beer and other items he carries, he brings two young, disheveled, frightened girls, Salima (Sharisa Whatley) and Sophie (Evann Jones). It's okay to put Salima to work, but Sophie needs help. Raped with a bayonet, she can no longer provide sex (she's "Ruined," or so the title of the play informs us).
The play also has a Saroyan-esque character in Mr. Harari (a charming Joe Hanrahan), who drinks and philosophizes. Soldiers come and go, always told to check their bullets at the bar, and Mama tries to keep a grip on everything. But it's slipping and she knows it.
All four of the women are splendid, but Frye's Mama is a commanding presence and Jones' growth as Sophie is heart-warming.
The soldiers are proper bullies, men whose manhood lies in the size of their guns, and Erik Kilpatrick stands out as Commander Osembenga, the biggest of the bullies. Chauncy Thomas goes slightly over the top, but is impressive as Fortune, Salima's husband who wants her to come home. Ron Himes' direction is as fierce as Nottage's play, and it provides a major emotional experience. It isn't pleasant, but it's necessary, like strong medicine.
Regina Garcia's set gives the tawdry, slightly seedy look of a bar somewhere close to the end of the world, and Daryl Harris' costumes and Kathy Perkins' lights are right. Robin Wetherall did fine work with the sound design, which also covered the live music, James Belk on percussion and Dennis Brock on guitar.
"Ruined" is an explosive play, a startling look at a difficult subject.
Ruined, a production of the St. Louis Black Repertory Company, is on stage at the Grandel Theatre through March 6
—Joe