West Adams

Award-winning director Michael A. Shepperd directs his able cast in this fast-moving 90-minute drama, which is produced by Gary Grossmann and Michael Kearns.

I commend Skylight Theatre for their efforts to produce relevant productions and make sure they get in front of audiences immediately. As residents of LA, we owe it to society to explore areas outside of our comfort zone. West Adams is a cautionary tale that made me go see for myself what’s actually happening in that neighborhood. If that was the goal then this play achieved its objective. I also want to give a little shout out to whoever designed the program cover. This clever piece of artwork speaks volumes. “West Adams” is a smart, powerful play. Go see it for yourself – and then go see West Adams. You might just learn a little something.

While I have issues with the writing and question who this piece is particularly intended for, I do appreciate provocative works of art even if their purpose is not exactly clear and the majority of their small ensemble lack any depth or arc to them besides just being downright terrible people. I appreciate works written and directed by PoC artists and I applaud the Skylight Theatre Company for being one of the very few theatre companies in Los Angeles willing to put up numerous original works by PoC artists and cast PoC actors in meaningful lead roles on a regular basis as opposed to having just one minority play of the season. So despite my issues with the story, I can definitely recommend this show as something at least worth watching.

West Adams may have gotten more than a few rave reviews, but on a purely objective note, I’ve rarely heard such brief, muted applause at the end of a production where one might expect to hear cheers. Perhaps audience members’ lack of enthusiasm had to do with not wanting to reward West Adams’ repugnant characters with too much love. For this reviewer, at least, the reason was far more simple.

“West Adams” launches the Skylight Theatre’s season of three plays from SkyLAb, an innovative residency program that fosters new plays written by company members. It’s a brilliant debut that bodes well for the rest of the season.

The 85-minute show moves at a fair clip under Michael A. Shepperd's (ROTTERDAM) direction, though he might consider reining his performers in once in a while. While WEST ADAMS starts off a little uneven, Lowder and Shepperd help it find balance, and in the end is quietly and disconcertingly powerful.

The talented cast eagerly enters into the battle with ferocious antagonism that rapidly devolves into an assaultive onslaught on the enemy. Attacking timely issues like race, class, gentrification, and immigration, WEST ADAMS is certainly a thought-provoking study of people caught in the cross-hairs.

In presenting this story, West Adams does what theatre is supposed to do: make you think, and make you confront something that makes you uncomfortable. Theatre isn’t always a story with a light and happy ending, with song and dance and laughter in your heart. Sometimes it is the darker stories, such as last week’s The Last Ship about the death of a community when the wealthy shipyard owners close a business for economic reasons, or West Adams where we see the unspoken racism in this country as a factor in gentrification. The shows I’ve cited here from Company of Angels, Casa 0101, and Skylight also does what is very important in Los Angeles: Having theatre that is not only presented in Los Angeles, but is about Los Angeles, and tells stories that make Los Angeles think about its place and what it is doing. West Adams is also a significant show in juxtaposition with the larger story of what is happening in this country under the Trump administration, where white supremacy is increasingly out in the open and accepted by the administration. How would President Trump feel about the family in this story? Would he be giving them the President Medal of Freedom for what they are doing. All these factors make this show something that should really be seen.

..And though the script could benefit from some tinkering—there are back story details that might be clarified —West Adams overall is a savvy, satisfying play, spotlighting the toxic ilk that still poisons our fractious American communities.

In  Penelope Lowder’s West Adams the Machiavellian machinations of the intrepid interlopers sets them on a collision course with their largely Black and Hispanic neighbors. It is a conflict laden with racial and class overtones. The standout in the excellent ensemble, deftly directed by the celebrated Michael A. Shepperd of Celebration Theatre, is the slinky Jenny Soo.

The brilliant, disciplined cast (kudos to director Michael A Shepperd) kicks off the action with a rousing rendition of the National Anthem, led by a vigorously voiced Andrés M. Bagg (as Edward) who is soon joined by Allison Blaize (as Sarah), Clayton Farris (as Michael), and Jenny Soo (as Julie), two thirty-something married couples. They do the “Star Spangled Banner” proud in spiffy, shiny costumes and impeccable choreography. The two couples are rehearsing to get a shot to perform in a neighborhood block party. They are spritely, happy, white and full of themselves for having moved into classic houses in the historically black neighborhood of West Adams, located just south of Downtown Los Angeles.