Pipeline is one of those thrilling intimate dramas that pulls you into its core with genuine emotion and basic human truths. Written by Dominique Morisseau and presented at Lincoln Center Theater one year after the completion of her famed trilogy, The Detroit Project, it won the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Every one of the well-drawn characters has an arguable viewpoint, proving that the most provocative and intelligent questions rarely have straight answers.
The entire cast of six is perfectly calibrated to provide an affecting high-energy 90 minute ride. Each character is under pressure, but despite their shared sense of oppression they simply can’t manage to give each other a break. The story opens on an earnest Karen Pittman as Nya, a teacher in a typically underfunded public school. Although she is fiercely dedicated to creating relatable materials for her inner-city students, she has agreed to send her only child Omari — an appropriately grave Namir Smallwood — to a private boarding school. He is clearly bright enough to compete academically, but privilege isn’t contagious and Omari has been undone by the environment. His long-brewing rage has boiled over during a lesson on Richard Wright’s Native Son, a controversial book often criticized for bolstering a destructive stereotype of young black men.
As mother and son work along their distinct paths in search of conflict resolution, we also meet two of Nya’s co-workers: Tasha Lawrence as a frustrated and mouthy white fellow teacher, Laurie, and Jaime Lincoln Smith’s Dun, a caring security guard who has history with Nya. Providing some lightness to the mood is a delightfully sincere Heather Velazquez as Omari’s girlfriend, Jasmine. Perhaps most critical to setting all the events in motion is Morocco Omari’s Xavier, Nya’s ex-husband who is out of step with both her and their son.
Thanks to a partnership between LCT and BroadwayHD, the work is currently available to viewers nationwide with rewarding results. Blending recordings from August 22 and 24 of 2017, Habib Azar’s direction for the screen(from stage direction by Lileana Blain-Cruz) draws the audience even deeper into the profound rage and passing joys of the characters. Significant details from a bandaid to a tremor are more visible in closeup. The short scenes are keep flowing by using film clips as bridges. Presented in three-quarter round with the audience as a classroom, this production also serves as an introduction to the jewel box of a house that is the Mitzie Newhouse.
The creative team has supported the required fast pace. Scenic designer Matt Saunders defines the space with a wall of white washed concrete masonry and simple set pieces. Location is further established using projections by Hannah Wasileski. Yi Zhao’s variations of light and shadow along with Justin Ellington’s sound work together to increase emphasis of key moments.
At a time when public schools are increasingly lacking in financial and community support, Pipeline draws sharp lines from a personal story to the bigger picture. The questions it raises are sure to linger in your heart and mind long after the last curtain call. In honor of Black History Month, Pipeline is featured with a stellar line-up that also includes 2010 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, Memphis; American masterpiece, Porgy and Bess recorded in San Francisco’s splendid War Memorial Opera House; and the incomparable Audra McDonald in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. Learn more by visiting https://www.broadwayhd.com/categories/celebrating-black-artists.
The Unforgettable Line 
Lynn Nottage on Mlima’s Tale
Playwright Lynn Nottage is seemingly everywhere. Her wide appeal and astonishing tonal range stretch from the gut-wrenching Ruined to the broad humor of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark. Two of her plays — Clyde’s and Sweat — are among the ten most produced of this year’s season. The operatic version of her drama, Intimate Apparel, for which she wrote the libretto, is currently on PBS as part of their Great Performances series. And she wrote the book for the Michael Jackson jukebox musical, MJ, now playing on Broadway. Her long reach is made possible in part by a form of self-care. She gives herself a mental break from covering thornier issues by simultaneously writing a comedy.
Last Thursday in an evening co-presented by the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner sat down for her first conversation with Damon Tabor. The investigative journalist wrote an article, “The Ivory Highway,” that inspired her play Mlima’s Tale. He had tracked the intertwined entities responsible for the horrendous international ivory trade. Offenders include poachers, smugglers and all-too-knowing buyers. Moved by what she read in his piece, Nottage buried herself in research. It revealed a genuine possibility of a world without elephants and she felt the need to sound an alarm. She educated herself about the communication style of elephants, especially their deeply social nature. Eventually she developed a story from the viewpoint of a rare big-tusker, beginning with his murder and following the trail through all of those who were complicit in his death. She named him Mlima, Swahili for mountain.
The script is structured as a series of one-on-one conversations illustrating the chain as Mlima’s tusks move from one possessor to the next. Always one for putting a face on an issue, Nottage had the lead character of Mlima portrayed by a human actor. This enabled her to let him more easily communicate to the audience and bring his emotions fully into the room. Rather than using the traditional approach of hiring the production crew after the cast had begun their work, Nottage brought the entire team together from day one, resulting in a more cohesive artistic statement. Oscar winning director, Kathryn Bigelow, brought her genuine outrage and big picture thinking to the initial run-throughs. The impactful concept of having Mlima physically leave his mark on all the perpetrators by smearing them in white came from costume designer Jennifer Moeller.
Mlima’s Tale, was nominated by the Outer Critics Circle in several categories when New York’s Public Theater presented the world premiere in 2018 under the direction of Jo Bonney. The book can be purchased here: https://shop.aer.io/tcg/p/Mlimas_Tale/9781559369114-9511. Performances are currently playing at 1st Stage in Tysons, Virginia and due to open soon at the Arsht Center in Miami, Florida. Productions are also being prepared internationally, though significantly not in China where the ivory trade still flourishes.
Image: Ito Aghayere, Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo in the 2018 World Premiere of Mlima’s Tale. © Joan Marcus.