THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

At: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn

Phone: 312-443-3811; $15-$35

Runs through: June 25

BY RICK REED

I'm thinking how up-and-coming African-American playwright Lynn Nottage's Crumbs from the Table of Joy can be so many things at once. It's a comedy that tickles, a drama that tugs at the heart, a memory play that revels in nostalgia and a coming-of-age story that, in its own unique way, hits a chord with all of us. Maybe it's that last point, the ability of Nottage to make the specific universal, that makes her a playwright to be reckoned with, a deft chronicler of the human condition. In filtering her story through the eyes of 17-year-old Ernestine ( a.k.a. Darling Angel ) , Nottage raises issues that resonate with everyone who has ever grown up and watched as a little unit called the family tries to stay together through trials and tribulations both external and internal. Crumbs allows us to see the universal struggle to forge a unique identity, separate from the influences of family and home, is one we all have in common, no matter what our skin color is.

But what a wonderful portrait Nottage paints ( and director Chuck Smith brings to mesmerizing life ) ! Ernestine looks back over the critical years in her journey to womanhood: 1950s Brooklyn shortly after the death of her mother when her father, a devout follower of a cultish religious leader, Father Divine, moves his family from Florida to New York, where he settles down into a mostly Jewish part of the borough. Nottage traces the pivotal events of that time, which have mainly to do with two more women joining this staid family unit and how each of those women inject new life and perspective into what's essentially a colorless existence. First, there's Aunt Lily, who arrives with a clamor: loud-mouthed, glamorous and an avowed Communist, Lily shows the girls there's more to life than religious devotion and tempts their father with her wanton, free-wheeling sensuality. It is this sensuality that drives the inhibited father out of the house one night after he flies a little too close to the flame of Lily's attraction, and into the arms of Gerte, a white German immigrant new to U.S. shores. The two have a three-day courtship and the girl's father shows up with a brand new—and white—mother in tow. The addition of Gerte allows Nottage to ruminate on how the family fabric came come to be torn by issues of loyalty and racism and how—perhaps—it can be built up again, stronger than before. Where love exists, anything is possible.

This is one of those shows that has everything: a thought-provoking thesis, sharply etched characters and a superior entertainment quotient. Director Chuck Smith is blessed with an astonishing ensemble, led by the sparkling Ella Joyce, who originated the role of Lily at the Second Stage Theater and has been playing it nationwide. Joyce creates a Lily that is oversized and confident, yet always real. If she can't make you laugh, you aren't breathing. It's hard to imagine anyone else taking over this role, Joyce so fully inhabits it. Nambi E. Kelley, as the heart and mind of the play, quietly leads us through a kaleidoscope of memories and situations, inspiring trust and often, love. John Steven Crowley, as the girl's father, is sympathetic and believable. Linda Buchanan's stage design is excellent: functional and at the same time, evocative…framing this memory play with great heart.