Theater Review: ‘The Picture Box’

Mackie (Arthur French) was practically a father to Carrie (Jennifer Van Dyck), now middle-aged, in “The Picture Box,” a play about race relationships. (Carmen L. de Jesus)

NEW YORK—The eponymous picture box referred to in the title is simply a cardboard box of old family photos. The family is that of Carrie (Jennifer Van Dyck), now a grown woman. But more importantly, the family also includes her beloved African-American caretaker, Mackie (Arthur French), and his wife Josephine (Elain Graham).

As a young man, Mackie had come to work for Carrie’s family. It was Mackie who had nurtured the young child, replacing the lost love of the girl’s mother, who had remarried and had come to ignore her offspring.

Here, in this beautiful home (a simple but lovely living room by designer Patrice Davison) on an island off the Florida coast, the trio is going through the box of photos and discussing old times. However, at this time, a dire decision has been made by Carrie. Although she promised her mother that she would never sell the home, she has decided to do so, and the three are awaiting the visit of a middle-aged, middle-class American couple who has agreed to buy the property.

Mackie chides Carrie for what he considers to be her improper decision. She should keep the house, he states.

The couple arrives for the closing. Bob (Malachy Cleary) not only is pompous, but he also makes, seemingly unconsciously, racist remarks, treating Mackie like an inferior being and letting him know that he will no longer have the run of the property and its environs.

Bob’s wife, Karen (Marisa Redanty), attempts to set things right, but even she manages to offend Carrie and the others by her abrupt possessiveness of the house and her remark that they can do whatever they want with it, raze it to the ground if they wish. The others stiffen, as if they fear the eradication of both tradition and a lifetime of experience.

The ultimate decision comes to make itself.

Although playwright Cate Ryan’s play is short, little more than an hour, it packs a lot on the subject of race relations into it. The bond of affection between Carrie and Mackie is unmistakably deep and powerful. He has been more of a parent to her than her actual parents. On the other side of things, it’s shown that racism still exists and also has powerful roots. It makes one wonder if this scourge can ever be eradicated

The actors, under the firm guiding hand of director Charles Weldon, make the presentation a gripping experience.

The actors, under the firm guiding hand of director Charles Weldon, make the presentation a gripping experience. Arthur French’s Mackie conveys both warmth and the steadiness that comes from long years of giving to others.

Elain Graham’s Josephine lends steadfast support. Jennifer Van Dyck inhabits her role powerfully, conveying a strong sense of complete comfort with and appreciation of her apparent adoptive parents.

The interloping couple played by Malachy Cleary and Marisa Redanty are unusual in that they never seem to be wholly villainous but rather the victims of the wrong kind of societal exposure, which, unfortunately, has apparently seeped into their very souls.

Director Charles Weldon, also an accomplished actor, has been since 2004 artistic director of the prestigious Negro Ensemble Company, which produced this play. Also of note, actor Arthur French is a founding member of the company.

The NEC provides African-American, African, and Caribbean professional artists with an opportunity to be nurtured in the performing arts. The company also presents shows by and about black people to a culturally diverse audience that is often undeserved. It has presented more than 200 new plays and provided a theatrical home for more than 4,000 cast and crew members.

Past productions of note include Joseph A. Walker’s The River Niger, which moved from Off-Broadway to Broadway, where it garnered a Tony Award for Best Play; also Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play, which won the Critics Circle Best Play Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Diana Barth writes and publishes “New Millennium,” an arts publication. For information: diabarth@juno.com