Curtain call for social commentary

Two plays meant to challenge audiences with bold themes — one from the 1960s that is now infrequently mounted, the other a fresh script with a timely backdrop — are opening soon at Seattle playhouses.

When it first appeared in 1969, this play by esteemed African-American author Alice Childress caused a stir. But ACT Theatre's new staging by Valerie Curtis-Newton, the inaugural production of ACT's new Lorraine Hansberry Project, represents a rare revival of this feminist exploration of black identity.

No wonder it was controversial at the time of its debut. Set in Harlem, in the midst of a race riot (not unlike the 1968 Harlem riot, following the Rev. Martin Luther King's assassination), the play considers a black male artist, Bill, who is creating a triptych of paintings of African-American female archetypes.

A streetwise young woman called Tommy has accepted his invitation to pose for the piece. But she did it not knowing that Bill chose her to represent the ignorant and coarse "messed-up chicks" he denigrates, the rude by-product of a racist society.

When she realizes Bill is denigrating her, and romanticizing other black women as "African queens," Tommy vigorously objects to the painter's view. She challenges his male chauvinism and elitist attitude toward the "nitty-gritty" black masses.

Childress (who died in 1994 at age 73) wrestled with equally knotty concerns about gender, class and identity in her diverse body of work. Her creations also included the play "Wedding Band" (about an interracial love affair in the Deep South, circa 1918), and "A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich," a searing 1973 novel (and later, a film) examining a 13-year-old, inner-city heroin addict.

Theater previews

"Wedding Band" and "Wine in the Wilderness" both had airings on TV years back. But an acclaimed London revival of the latter recently suggested that it's a fine time to get Childress' uncompromising, thought-provoking plays back onstage.

"Wine in the Wilderness" previews tonight through Wednesday, opens Thursday, runs through July 9 at ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle; $10-$54. (206-292-7676 or www.acttheatre.org).

For something new, or newish, one can look to Theater Schmeater's local debut of this politically topical play by Seattle-based playwright Vince Delaney.

Set during the 1991 Gulf War, the piece takes a darkly comic view of the sometimes warped relationship between the military and the media during wartime.

"Kuwait" started out in miniature, as a scathing 10-minute dark comedy in which a female war reporter is captured and interrogated by a U.S. soldier after she sneaks into a combat zone without permission. That short play debuted in the 2004 Humana Festival of New American Plays, at Louisville Actors Theatre, where it shared a Heideman Award.

Delaney has since expanded the script into a full-length piece, with additional characters and military-media confrontations. In its longer form, it received the New Play Award at California's Sonoma Rep and will be staged at Theater Schmeater by Braden Abraham.

Back living in Seattle after a long stint in Minneapolis, Delaney notes that he did intend "Kuwait" to be a comment on the Gulf War.

But the play has come to symbolize elements of the current Iraq war, and Delaney notes, "That's just how it happened, and I've come to accept it."

"Kuwait" previews Thursday, runs next Friday through July 22 at Theater Schmeater, 1500 Summit Ave., Seattle; $18/free under age 18 (206-325-6500 or www.schmeater.org).

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com