City Paper Theater Preview: Paul Robeson

If, as the saying has it, some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them, Paul Robeson has the distinction of qualifying in all three categories.

The son of a former slave, Robeson (born in 1898) became the first black All-American athlete, a graduate of Rutgers and Columbia law school, a celebrated singer and actor, an internationally renowned fighter against racism and fascism, a victim of the McCarthy witch hunts and, finally, recognized in his own country as the astounding man of astonishing achievement that the rest of the world knew him to be.

And I feel like I’ve accomplished something if I get my laundry done in under three days.

Because running one theater group isn’t enough work, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company Artistic Director Mark Clayton Southers has started another group, the Griot Ensemble Theater, which is presenting Paul Robeson, written by Philip Hayes Dean.

As hagiography goes, Paul Robeson is pretty much by the book. We meet him at the end of his life, where his reminiscences soon give way to full-out re-enactments. We hit the highlights of Robeson’s remarkable life and finish up back where we started.

Robeson was at the center of the huge currents of change coursing through America in the 20^th century -- culturally, politically and socially. Without approaching Wagnerian length, Dean obviously can’t explore any of the details in Robeson’s life. So the script’s Cliff’s Notes feel is unavoidable. But then, seeing the play only makes you want to learn as much as you can about this inspiring giant of a man … which, really, is the goal of quality educational theater.

Having played the role several times before, Don Marshall knows the ins and outs of the character, down to the smallest detail. A man of no small talent himself, Marshall easily runs the huge gamut of emotions laid out in the script, and does a great job taking us from the young hopeful at the beginning to the aged warrior at the end.

Where Marshall needs to place his focus, and where director Mark Clayton Southers should have shown a stronger hand, is pace. Two hours and 40 minutes is a very long time to listen to one person talk -- even when the actor is as good as Marshall and the character as luminous as Robeson. At times the action just stops and Marshall doles … out … the … words … in … a … leaden … monotone. Other times he’s playing throwaway lines with the import of a first-act climax. Without any dramatic shape, the evening strains toward listless.

But I’ll tell you what -- Marshall’s too good an actor and both he and Southers have too much theater know-how to let the show stand as it is. And once they cut the running time by at least 35 minutes this is going to be an evening of scorching theater.

Paul Robeson continues through Aug. 6. Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, 542 Penn Ave., Downtown. 412-288-0358