Review of "Mlima's Tale"

The illegal trade in African ivory is the central focus of Mlima’s Tale, a new play by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage.  The 80-minute show is receiving its first professional production since its 2018 world premiere at The Public Theater in New York City.  It plays at the Westport Country Playhouse through October 19^th.

At the onset, the show opens with what appears to be an African native in ritualized dance, praying to the gods or maybe his deceased ancestors.  Soon, we realize, the actor is actually the representation of Mlima, the last of the bull elephants with tusks six-feet in length, who is being hunted by poachers for his prized ivory.  There is no escape for the animal, even after 40 days of trying to elude his human predators.  He is finally caught and butchered by the pursuing men.  This begins a chain of events, chronicling the illicit trafficking of the purloined ivory from the African plains to its final incarnation as a high-priced piece of artwork on display in the foyer of a Chinese mogul’s a high-rise penthouse apartment. 

The play is crafted as a series of self-contained vignettes detailing each step in which the tusks are ferreted from Kenya, their starting off point.  There is the set-up, confrontation, and resolution, usually involving corrupt officials.  The feel comes across as more of an academic presentation and less of an engaging story with a strong theatrical core.  Audience members are most likely going to be revolted and outraged by what they witness happening on stage, but there is not much of a dramatic arc to keep us emotionally connected.

The one thread that resonates throughout the production is the ghostly presence of the slain Mlima.  He hovers over the ending of each scene as an apparitional witness to the venal dealings being committed.  Unspoken and with minimal stirring, he lightly dusts the faces of each conspirator, silently marking their involvement in their connivance.

While the three performers – Jennean Farmer, Adit Dileep, and Carl Hendrick Louis – play each of their rotating roles with assurance and believability, it is the performance of Jermaine Rowe as the doomed pachyderm that anchors this production.  His muscular frame helps create the illusion of a large, once proud, elephant.  A noted performer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, the actor is agile and spare with his movements on stage, conveying an angst and sorrowfulness in both life and death.

Director Mark Lamos keeps the pacing brisk as the settings change from such varied locales as African, Vietnam and China.  There is almost a documentary feel to the scenes that accompany the sure-handed assertiveness to his direction.

Choreographer Jeffrey Page’s work with Jermaine Rowe is powerful and impassioned.

Yana Birykova’s minimalistic porjections can be haunting – a large moon hovering over a naked stage -  and overt as demonstrated by slides of the slaughtered Mlima projecting from the backdrop.  Composer Michael Keck’s musical interludes are affecting and help set the tone for the production.

Mlima’s Tale, playing at the Westport Country Playhouse through October 19^th.  For information and tickets, go to https://www.westportplayhouse.org/MlimasTale