A Queer Descendant of a Confederate General Wrestles With Identity in Stonewallin'

Through April 20 at Convergence-Continuum Theater performing at The Liminis Theater Credit: Photo Credit: Robert Wachala/convergence-continuum.

“Coming of age” stories are a staple in all kinds of plays, from “Romeo and Juliet” to “Spring Awakening.” But when the “age” a character is coming into is non-binary, complications can arise. Especially during this time when there are people willing and eager to take away a person’s right to be who they are and live as they wish.

In Stonewallin’ now at Convergence-Continuum Theater, playwright Kari Barclay presents Tommy Jackson, a queer descendant of another Thomas Jackson who went by the nickname “Stonewall.” Young Tommy is trying to work out his gender identity and sexual orientation while dealing with the white-guilt baggage of having the renowned Confederate Army general as his great-great-great granddaddy.

Barclay has a deft touch with dialogue and humor and juggles a number of topics including the mixed legacy of Stonewall himself. But even with solid direction by Jeannine Gaskin, some playwriting shortcuts trim the effectiveness of some scenes which leaves the often-amusing piece promising but unfulfilling.

When we meet 20-something Tommy in Lexington, Kentucky, he is betwixt and between. Gender-wise, he wears a skirt along with his boy clothes and is still sussing out whom he’s attracted to. Then he bumps into a gay Black woman while he’s preparing to put a magical spell on a statue of Stonewall, to make the old guy disappear.

Tommy and Marsha soon become an item, but what kind of an item is in flux as they try to negotiate each other’s needs and preferences. This is a process that could have been expanded, to both humorous and poignant ends.

Overnight the statue disappears, then the ghost of Stonewall appears to Tommy and starts interacting with his namesake while trying to defend his place in history (he was one of the “good” slaveowners, make of that what you will).

There is also a subplot involving Marsha’s brother Elijah, a local Black man who is working to fund a low-income housing project. He is also a Civil War re-enactor with Mamaw Jackson (yes, another relative in the Jackson, er, clan) who is a devout liberal-hating redneck when she isn’t Elijah’s pal.

If you’re sensing that there’s more than five pounds of grits in this five-pound sack—did I mention Elijah and Marsha’s dad is sick and dying?—you’d be right. And while Barclay has a light touch with the script, at several points he resorts to telling us how the characters feel rather than showing us.

That approach, while efficient, undercuts the production by keeping the audience at arms-length away from the characters. It turns some scenes into case studies of their relationship rather than enabling the audience to explore it themselves, along with the actors.

As Tommy, Joshua Michael Tarr is engaging, as is Chelsea Anderson as Marsha. but they never manage to create a chemistry that is fully believable. Logan Andrews as Stonewall Jackson is formidable, physically and otherwise. And Perry Reed does what he can with his underwritten part as Elijah.

Even amidst all the unlikely goings on, whenever Anne McEvoy appears on stage as Mamaw it all seems to make sense. McEvoy turns the old coot’s reflexive bigotry into poetry thanks to her easy manner and spot-on timing.

While there are one or two more endings than are necessary, as the playwright tries to gather all the loose threads into a tidy package, the overall effect once the curtain falls is actually quite cheery. And that’s not something every play can offer.

Stonewallin’
Through April 20 at Convergence-Continuum Theater performing at The Liminis Theater, 2438 Scranton Road, Cleveland, 216-687-0074, convergence-continuum.org.

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