The playwright Donnetta Lavinia Grays was raised in Columbia, South Carolina, but now bases herself in Brooklyn, New York. And in her play “Last Night and the Night Before,” the southland comes knocking on the door of New York, child along, for what turns out to be a very difficult ride.
Previously seen at the Denver Center, where the work was part of the 2017 Colorado New Play Summit, “Last Night” is in many ways an unusual choice for Steppenwolf Theatre, which does not have a history of domestic, moralistic family drama speaking the language of hope and recovery. Unlike some of the fiery plays by young Black writers currently lighting up Broadway, It’s a slow-burning, traditionally structured piece with a plot that does not pack many surprises. That said, the work is keenly observed and offers an opportunity for some very skilled and warm-centered actors and, under the direction of Valerie Curtis-Newton, they do not disappoint.
The inciting incident here is the arrival of Monique (Ayanna Bria Bakari) and her 11-year-old daughter Sam (Kylah Renee Jones, at the performance I saw) at the door of the brownstone of her sister, Rachel (Sydney Charles). Rachel lives with her partner Nadima (Jessica Dean Turner) having “got out” as she puts it. Clearly, Monique, who has come from rural Georgia, is in some kind of trouble; she has arrived without the girl’s father, Reggie (Namir Smallwood, diving as deep as ever) and we quickly see that she has addiction and financial issues.
Frankly, when a person with both troubles and a child walks into the living room of a childless couple, audiences immediately intuit that they’re about to watch a tussle over parenting with the kid at the center. And that’s very much part of what happens here, certainly, as Grays probes the dynamic of a Brooklyn couple upended by the arrival of what looks like a sudden family obligation for one of them, at least. But the main focus of the play is on the girl tugged and pulled by the adults in her life and trying to find some stability for herself, even as she deals with own pending adolescence. The play puts a lot of heavy demands on a very young actress and Jones was just terrific (Aliyana Nicole appears at some performances), but then so is Sydney Charles, who is deeply moving as Rachel, the woman who thought her life was set only for her childhood to come calling upon her. The adults in the play are forever arguing back and forth in front of the girl; when she repairs to the stoop, you surely understand why.
The two-act play, which features a uniformly excellent cast, then switches back and forth between the Lowcountry in the past and Brooklyn in the present (set designer Regina García splits her space) as we learn more about the history of Monique, Reggie and Sam even as we watch how this family evolves. This is very much a play wherein you watch good people doing their best in very difficult circumstances. It’s a family community under pressure, if you will, and it’s not hard to extrapolate these feelings and emotions to whatever circumstances are befalling your own life. Also notable here is a rich soundscape from designer Larry Fowler.
I felt the play still needs work late in Act 2: the ending and the actors feel rushed and the emotional logic of the piece, which is richly drawn earlier on, needs more time to breathe. But this is nonetheless a generous, affirmative show that enjoyed a warm and supportive reaction from its audience. As well it deserved.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
Review: “Last Night and the Night Before” (3 stars)
When: Through May 14
Where: Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.
Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
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Tickets: $48-$88 at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org