THEATER REVIEW: WHAT DO YOU DREAM OF?

Gerald Rivers in What Do You Dream Of?

From the mountaintop

By Ed Rampell

During the long imprisonment of her husband, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela felt like “Part of my soul went with him,” as the title of her autobiography put it. In the same vein, when Dr. Martin Luther King’s life was cut short and the Civil Rights leader was taken away from us by an assassin’s bullet in 1968, part of America’s collective soul went with him. I truly don’t think the USA has ever recovered from the loss of such a moral compass, who could speak truth to power so authoritatively, persuasively -- and eloquently.

But for one night only, this one-of-a-kind apostle of peace will live again onstage during Gerald Rivers’ (almost) one man show What Do You Dream Of?Dr. King called America the world’s “greatest purveyor of violence” and Rivers is surely the planet’s greatest purveyor of this prophet of nonviolence in the entire arts world. With a smidgen of poet Samuel Coleridge’s “willing suspension of disbelief,” for 90 minutes or so Rivers’ uncanny impressions of the noble Nobel Peace Prize winner seems to bring King back to life.

According to Ellen Geer, Artistic Director of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, “the Martin Luther King estate adores Gerald. They really opened the literature to him… The library is open to him; all of Martin Luther King’s works, so that should say something,” especially considering that the King family is noted for its tightfisted control and copyrighting of the slain patriarch’s literary legacy.

The MLK speeches Rivers draws upon during his production include: “I Have A Dream”; “Funtown USA”; "The Street Sweeper"; and “American Dream.” Two songs were written especially for the Theatricum show: "Dare to Dream" by Jeffrina Oakes and "MLK Saved the Day," written by 13-year-old Miles McAliley.

Although essentially a one man show, the play includes African and Asian dance numbers. What Do You Dream Of?is playing July 27 at the Theatricum’s smaller 100-ish seat “Under the Oaks” amphitheatre for a special one night only performance as a fundraiser for the Topanga theatre company.

Geer, who was interviewed in front of Woody Guthrie’s cabin at the Topanga grounds, goes on to say, “Gerald has become very important, because of the way he delivers, and the power behind when he does Martin Luther King’s speeches is quite profound… He understands how to drum up that wonderful energy Martin Luther King had to engage a large group of people… And he’s created this piece, and his children are in it this year. His daughter, who is an intern here with us, and his son, who was an intern last year” at the Theatricum, which not only presents Shakespeare and more under the stars in its twin Topanga amphitheatres, but also trains young talents who aspire to work in the theatre.

As stellar as Rivers’ depiction of MLK is, he is no one-trick pony. Rivers is a longtime member of the Theatricum’s troupe of thespians, who appears this summer in the theatre company’s rollicking production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, which takes artistic liberties and under Ellen’s tutelage, is reset from Elizabethan London circa 1603 to counterculture California during the sizzling 1960s. Rivers appears as King at the opening of the updated Measure for Measure, “then he plays a pimp; it’s a beautiful switch,” laughs Geer, as Rivers depicts a Blaxploitation type of procurer during most of Shakespeare’s bawdy comedy.

During What Do You Dream Of?the dreadlocked Gerald also portrays a Southern Grandmother (in a tribute to all grandmas); a man (Sherman Tank) incarcerated along with Dr. King; MLK’s daughter, Yolanda; plus “Dreamawonde,” the ancient African Griot, with his father “Azanti.” But of course, the highlight is when not-so-old-man Rivers brings that shining prince of peace ever so back to life. For an hour and a half or so, through the magic of live theatre, viewers’ hearts can stop aching from the loss of our beloved dreamer and ever so briefly, our souls can soar again towards that long, lost “Beloved Community” Dr. King rhapsodized about. Rivers’ play allows us to fly back up the mountaintop and, as Hamlet put it, “Perchance to dream.”


What Do You Dream Of?will be performed tonight, 8 p.m., at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum: 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, California, 90290. For information: 310/455-3723; www.Theatricum.com.