'The Light' Is a Stunning Finale to Ensemble Theatre's Season

A spectacular play titled The Light has only one more weekend on the Ensemble Theatre stage, and it's one you should change previous plans to see. But before we discuss the reason why, we must consider a couple recent historical moments.

In 2006, a Black woman named Tarana Burke started the #MeToo movement to empower and unite women who have been sexually assaulted. It inspired millions of survivors to come forward, and continues to do so.

And on October 5, 2018, The U.S. senate voted for cloture that ended the Brett Kavanaugh debate and enabled him to be confirmed to a lifetime post on the Supreme Court. Mr. Kavanaugh is the person who claimed to be a victim himself, in his defense against charges of sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford when they were in college.

Pointedly, the real-time action in The Light by Loy A. Webb takes place on precisely that day in October, when two Black and beautiful 30-somethings get together at her simple but stylish Hyde Park condo in Chicago. Genesis is the principal of a progressive grade school and Rashad, a one-time wannabe pro football player and current fireman, is her boyfriend for the past couple years.

Turns out, it's the anniversary of their first meeting, and the first half of the 70-minute play is devoted to their mostly playful and sexy bantering as they tease each other about gifts for each other. The jesting goes both ways and although there are a couple micro-dustups, the duo seems both lovey and dovey.

Eventually, however, Rashad reveals that he has purchased special tickets for a concert that night featuring the (fictional) rapper Kashif. Expecting Genesis to be over the moon with excitement, he instead sees that she is very hesitant about attending this event, and her resistance only increases as he tries to talk her into going.

The building tension ultimately leads to painful and traumatic revelations by both—centered on a sexual assault from years before—and the emotional-cultural tangle they find themselves in takes the audience on a swerving ride. Although some of the turns can be predicted, and others seem just a tad forced, playwright Webb keeps this two-handed well grounded.

Although Webb's play revolves around sexual abuse as well as class and gender privilege, it is more than a simple polemic. Genesis's "MeToo" moment is unbidden and unwanted, but once it's there, she has to deal with it. Meanwhile Rashad first tries to explain his perspective and then asks her to help teach him, which only further enrages Genesis, spitting out, "I'm not wasting my time on 'teachable' moments."

The production soars thanks to sensitive and expert staging by director Jeannine Gaskins, as well as the superb performances. As Genesis, Nicole Sumlin makes her character's joys and terrors palpable, hitting every beat with precision. And she is matched by Ananias J. Dixon, who makes Rashad's cluelessness both understandable (to some degree) and simultaneously infuriating. And the purposely ambiguous ending, you realize they've created a love story in the truest, often fraught sense of that word.

The Light is a stunning conclusion to Ensemble's season. While we critics have never included an award for the "Best Season by a Theater Company" in our annual "Best Of" announcement, this now-concluding season at the relocated Ensemble Theatre would qualify. Their season has been outstanding, with the current production preceded by the remarkable Clybourne Park and the equally dazzling Describe the Night.

So hats off to executive artistic director Celeste Cosentino and the entire Ensemble Theatre family. We look forward to their next season with great anticipation.

The Light
Through June 11 at Ensemble Theatre, Performing Arts Center-Notre Dame College, 4545 College Rd., South Euclid, 216-321-2930, ensembletheatrecle.org.