Date: Fri 06-Feb-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Miss-Evers'-Boys-Stamford

Full Text:

(rev "Miss Evers' Boys" @Stamford TheatreWorks_

A Test Of Ethical Strength, `Miss Evers' Depicts A Courageous Woman

(with cut)

By June April

STAMFORD -- For 14 years, The Tuskegee Institute studied the progress of

venereal disease in a largely black population of men. The issues of that

study, its morality and the human drama moved David Feldshuh to delve further

into the case.

His outcome, the play Miss Evers' Boys , is a moving exploration of a nurse

who is carrying out the orders of her superiors. Miss Evers realizes her work

is hurting, not helping, the men under her care. The story speaks loudly to

issues of ethics, trust, conscience and responsibility. It is timely, timeless

and a powerful experience.

The play reflects the meshing of science/medicine and creativity, both on the

stage and off. The playwright, Dr David Feldshuh, lives and works a dual life,

remaining deeply committed to medicine and drama. In 1982 he read a book about

the study by Jim Jones and it is through his play that Dr Feldshuh examines

ethical considerations: does the welfare of a few outweigh the needs of the

many, patient's rights, the Hippocratic oath, how scales balance research with

conscience. These thoughts were the impetus that motivated the creation of

this play.

Miss Evers' Boys , currently at Stamford TheatreWorks, is long, and it is a

little slow for the first act. Fortunately, the material is sufficiently

interesting to hold the audiences' attention. The tempo and the tension pick

up in the second act, bringing the play to a powerful conclusion.

Key elements to the story are the music and the dancing. Choreographer

Chiquita Ross Glover had the challenge of creating a dance the playwright had

made up, called "the Gille." One of the members of Miss Evers' Boys , Willie

Johnson (played by Spencer Barros), has a driving passion to be the winner of

all the local dance competitions so he and his group can leave their

poverty-ridden lives and go North to perform at the famous Cotton Club in New

York City. Their hope is the group's ticket to "freedom from want" and for a

life of dignity.

"This play is about people," Dr Feldshuh emphasized. In 1989 Miss Evers' Boys

won the New American Play Award and was the focus at the Sundance Institute

Playwriting Workshop. It has been performed at major theatres around the

country. HBO made it into a movie and Dr Feldshuh was hired to act as the

script consultant for the movie version of his play.

The common thread between the stage and screen is the love between Nurse Evers

and the men she tended to, and the decision-making that went into the study by

the doctors and the United States Government. The intimacy of the Stamford

theatre, and the deeper exploration of the relationship between Nurse Evers

and four men under her care, is emotionally different than the

made-for-television movie.

Catrina Ganey's performance as Miss Evers is very moving. Her pain and love,

by the end of the play, are truly believable.

The two doctors, one white and one black, who "directed" Nurse Evers, are

played by Richard Topol and Kim Sullivan, respectively. Both come across as

stiff and uneasy in their portrayals. Perhaps director Lorna Littleway chose

this characterization because the men on which the characters were based were

uncomfortable in their choices. "I wanted the audience to feel the immorality

of their choices," Dr Feldshuh explained, "but at the same time understand the

rationale of their actions."

Particularly sensitive performances by Craig Alan Edwards as Caleb Humphries,

Robert Hatcher as Ben Washington, and Eric Moreland as Hodman Bryan are a

pleasure to watch.

There are two interesting side comments to include. A former physician and

professor of ethics came up to this reviewer at the end of the play and

pointed out that a similar situation recently occurred in South Africa, where

women with HIV were not treated with drugs (known to help them), but were

instead studied for scientific purposes to see the effects of the disease.

Some of the moral issues here harken back to the Nuremberg Trials of World War

II.

February 1 was Dr Feldshuh's birthday. He not only attended the Sunday matinee

that afternoon at Stamford TheatreWorks, but was very happy to meet with cast

and audience members following the performance. The tall soft-spoken gentleman

is artistic director of the Center for Theatre Arts at Cornell University. A

loving parent to three sons and practicing emergency physician, David Feldshuh

stands as a living example of a caring, committed human being. His writing

personifies his character.

( Miss Evers' Boys continues through February 15. It may be especially

interesting to see it after viewing the movie to compare the two. Tickets may

be ordered by calling 359-4414. Prices range from $17 to $22 and there are

discounts for senior citizens, students and groups. The theatre is at 95

Atlantic Street, Stamford.)