Theater: “Shadow/LAND” @ the Public

“Shadow/LAND” (Public) tackles a subject that has all but disappeared from the headlines: Hurricane Katrina (2005) and its impact on the inhabitants of New Orleans.

Originally conceived as a podcast, Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s play allows us to experience the nightmare first hand—from the perspective of Magalee (Lizan Mitchell) an elderly bar owner, and her daughter Ruth (Joniece Abbott-Pratt).

For years, Megalee has operated Shadow/LAND which began as a refuge for Black entertainers in New Orleans. Her daughter Ruth, recognizing the neighborhood has fallen into decay, has been urging her mother to sell the place and move on. The issue becomes moot as the storm swoops down with a fury. They take refuge on the counter of their bar, while water rises on the stage, representing the flooding from the Mississippi River.

The women’s struggle to survive with little more than bottles of water is harrowing. Their failure to be rescued by the authorities is seriously frightening. Mitchell’s performance as the stubborn old bar owner with middle-stage dementia is powerful, as is Abbott-Pratt as the panic-stricken daughter trying to deal with a parent who doesn’t quite grasp what is happening. A third character, ironically called the Grand Marshall (Christine Shepard), drifts on and off the stage, as a grim reminder of what New Orleans was.

“Shadow/LAND” is the first of a 10-play series about Katrina and its aftermath. Kudos to playwright Dickerson-Dispenza for addressing an event that citizens of New Orleans are reeling from 18 years later.