'angry, Raucous, And Shamelessly Gorgeous' Lives Up To Its Title, But The Plot Lumbers

There’s thing delightful astir plays astir expansive divas successful crisis.

The prima donna successful extremis successful Pearl Cleage’s “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous,” which is having its Los Angeles premiere astatine nan Geffen Playhouse, has an aerial of Bette Davis extravagance to her. When Anna Campbell (Charlayne Woodard) struts astir her elegant edifice suite successful Atlanta, she can’t defy delivering 1 of Davis’ signature lines: “What a dump!”

She’s not astatine each dissatisfied pinch nan accommodations. She’s conscionable disappointment that nan upwind isn’t cooperating pinch her upcoming outdoor capacity and agitated that this mightiness beryllium a bad omen for her large American comeback.

More than 30 years ago, Anna and her head and trusted companion, Betsy Samson (a formidable Denise Burse), fled to Europe connected nan heels of a highbrow scandal. Anna made waves erstwhile she performed “Naked Wilson,” a protestation portion that had her delivering antheral monologues from August Wilson’s plays while opinionated stark naked earlier a divided audience.

The thought was to telephone attraction to nan measurement women person been de-centered successful nan antheral canon, but immoderate felt it was sacrilege to taxable Wilson’s activity to a feminist stunt. Acting opportunities dried up, and Anna high-tailed it to Amsterdam, wherever her histrionic grandeur was put to bully usage successful European classics.

Charlayne Woodard successful “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” astatine Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Woodard brings Anna to life pinch a smokey voice, a statuesque beingness and an arch demeanor. When her arms are successful flamboyant motion, she leaves nan belief of a seductive windmill that mightiness portion you to bits if you travel excessively close.

The sumptuous production, directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson pinch solidarity for Cleage’s characters, provides a marvelous showcase for Woodward to slink astir connected Beowulf Boritt’s glamorous five-star group successful costume designer Emilio Sosa’s inspired Pucci-esque outfits. Her Anna doesn’t do overmuch but springiness attitude. Ah, but what delicious cognition she gives!

Cleage’s play, it must beryllium said, is hamstrung pinch exposition. More clip is devoted to mounting up nan melodramatic business than to activating it. Author of “Blues for an Alabama Sky,” a 1995 abortion play still up of its time, Cleage is telling a backstage communicative that’s intelligibly adjacent to home. She’s besides spinning an intergenerational communicative of Black women groping past their first distrust to a deeper knowing of what they person successful common.

The intentions are noble and nan themes are handled pinch admirable complexity, but nan penning is sluggish. The crippled is for illustration an aged car whose motor conscionable refuses to commencement connected a acold wintertime morning.

Anna has returned to Atlanta to header a show that is rebooting her “Naked Wilson” piece. She’s worried astir disrobing astatine her age, but it turns retired that she’s only being honored for her work. A overmuch younger and acold little knowledgeable performer has been formed successful nan portion that made her a origin célèbre.

Denise Burse, from left, Deborah Joy Winans, Charlayne Woodard and Olivia Washington successful “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” astatine Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Precious Watson (Olivia Washington), who goes by Pete, has not only ne'er performed successful a Wilson play but she’s ne'er moreover seen 1 connected stage. She’s a stripper whose only existent melodramatic acquisition has travel from nan big intermezo industry. (Don’t telephone her a porn star, not because she’s ashamed of nan films she made but because she’s excessively humble astir her surface credits.)

Anna, her hauteur hardening for illustration a protective shell, is aghast. She’s besides fearful astir her future. She’s tally retired of money, and this show was to person launched her return to nan U.S.

Betty, whose destiny is tied to Anna’s, has been dangling nan imaginable of a nationalist tour. But erstwhile Kate Hughes (an appealingly grounded Deborah Joy Winans), nan shaper of nan festival, hears of this idea, she thinks it’s wholly unrealistic.

“I emotion Anna,” she tells Betty. “ I’m honoring Anna, but location conscionable isn’t an assemblage for nan benignant of position you’re talking about.”

Time marches on, and 1 era’s sensational renegade becomes a footnote successful nan next. But Anna can’t judge that each she holds ineffable — study, discipline, seriousness, committedness — is of small worth successful nan societal media world.

Deborah Joy Winans, left, and Denise Burse successful “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” astatine Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Pete (whom Washington plays pinch awesome self-possession) doesn’t look astatine each bothered astir what she doesn’t know. Anna keeps prefacing her remarks pinch nan words “no offense,” but Pete can’t thief being offended by her pointed disdain. Their standoff energizes nan play, but this jolt of momentum comes a small excessively late.

“Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” is not conscionable nan title. It’s besides a crippled summary. The gorgeous portion is nan richness of Cleage’s characters, radiantly realized by each 4 actors nether Jackson’s lukewarm direction.

Cleage gives nan women plentifulness of substance, though her novelistic mode — much telling than showing — deprives her play of style. The elegant staging tries to compensate, but nan performers person to trust a small excessively heavy connected their ain charms to dress up nan quality successful a play that swerves unexpectedly astatine nan extremity into a cutesy fairy tale.