Theater Review: “From the Mississippi Delta" at the Playhouse

By Nancy Sasso Janis

Westport Country Playhouse closes its season with “From the Mississippi Delta,” a play by Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland. The production, which was directed by Goldie E. Patrick, only runs through Oct. 30.

The Pulitzer Prize nominated play is a tale of determination, hope, motivation, and inspiration. Based on the author’s life, the journey begins in Greenswood, Mississippi – the Delta – where the character of Phelia (Holland's alter-ego) works in the cotton fields. Phelia's mother, Aint Baby, is a midwife who delivers babies of poor black and white women and also rents out rooms to prostitutes. The coming-of-age experiences acted out in the play inspire her to dare to dream as she becomes swept up in the dawning of the civil rights movement.

The director deems this play “a testament to the bold black women born out of the south. A proclamation about the revolutionary petunias like Dr. Holland who were planted in the rich soil and rose ‘From the Mississippi Delta.”

Mark Lamos, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director, got to know Dr. Holland when he produced this piece at Hartford Stage years ago and has loved it for many years. Lamos notes that the playwright took great pride in the fact that it then moved on to a successful run Off-Broadway.

After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as a doctorate from the University of Minnesota in American studies with a concentration in theatre arts (playwriting) she retired as professor emeritus from the University of Southern California. She was forced into early retirement and a wheelchair by ataxia, a hereditary, neuromuscular disorder and died in 2006.

The script is a patchwork of animated fragments of Holland’s life, performed by three actresses and each plays multiple roles. They share the storytelling duties, sometimes chorally. Some of the incidents are acted out in painstaking (and often uncomfortable ) detail, others are simply mentioned in passing. Despite my close attention, I missed many biographical details.

When reading about the professor’s life in the program after the performance, I was able to fill in the blanks. Dawn-Elin Fraser served as the dialect coach, making sure that the ladies have the correct Southern speech patterns, which unfortunately makes some of the dialogue difficult to follow.

The three - member Equity cast includes Claudia Logan as Woman 1. Logan, who is from Detroit and now lives in Brooklyn, appeared in “Don Juan” in 2019 at the Playhouse. Tameishia Peterson portrays Woman 2. Peterson was born in Dayton and raised in Memphis.

Erin Margaret Pettigrew (pictured above,) a first generation Los Angeles native with roots in Belize and the American South, plays Woman 3. It aids in the understanding of the story that Pettigrew portrays Aint Baby throughout the two acts, and does so very well.

All three of the actresses meet the demands of their various roles. I noticed that most of the audience members sitting near me (admittedly at the rear of the house) did not return after the intermission, so some were not there to acknowledge their hard work at the curtain call.

The scenic design by Jason Ardizzone-West features unpainted wooden slats that mark spaces and features an elevated platform reached by a wooden staircase. Costumes designed by Heidi Hanson fit the period in solid colors with a uniform theme and Niklya Mathis did the wig design . Lighting design by John D. Alexander has some shining moments that play upon the spaces between the wooden slats. Michael Keck is the credited composer/music director, but the ladies do all of their singing without accompaniment.

This play is recommended for ages 15 and up. The running time is approximately 120 minutes and is presented with one intermission. For the 2022 season only, plays are consolidated to a two-week performance schedule. Masks are required for the Oct. 26 matinee, the Oct. 28 evening performance and the Oct. 29 performance at 3:00 p.m. At all of the other performances, masks are strongly encouraged. Westport Country Playhouse is located at 25 Powers Court in Westport.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.