Joel Oramas and Steven Roten in Ashe in Johannesberg
★★
Though Sunday, Feb. 10
Burning Coal Theatre, Raleigh
It’s far too easy to scrutinize our ancestors’ courage in trying times—or their perceived lack thereof—through the perfect lens of hindsight, which requires no risk on our part.
Undeniably, the legacy of tennis star Arthur Ashe Jr. is a complicated one. The man who broke the color barrier in professional tennis by winning the U.S. Open in 1968 was viewed by many in his day as a Johnny-come-lately (or worse) in the fight for racial equality. This is understandable, as he certainly defied the orthodoxy of African-American liberation leaders of the time, who urged a global boycott of apartheid-era South Africa.
Ashe, the world's top-ranked tennis player, demanded entrance into the segregated South African Nationals in 1969; when he was denied a visa, he successfully led the drive to remove the country from Davis Cup competition and urged the International Tennis Federation to join the Olympics in banning South Africa as well.
Recent biographical research by Eric Allen Hall and others has shown that, before and after his controversial appearance in the 1973 South African Open, Ashe was becoming an increasingly effective advocate for racial justice in tennis, one of the world’s most segregated sports. But that story is not told at all in Hannah Benitez’s politically polarized biographical play, Ashe in Johannesburg.
After commissioning the work, Burning Coal Theatre Company produced its world premiere last Thursday night. Under artistic director Jerome Davis’s direction, a talented cast invokes a vivid array of characters. Joel Oramas makes the most of an abashed Ashe, and Steven Roten is animated as the oft-exasperated Frank Deford, the famous Sports Illustrated journalist who accompanied Ashe on his South African sojourn. Preston Campbell grabs the role of boxer Bob Foster, and Jackie Markham’s take on tennis pioneer Althea Gibson grinds a justifiable axe about Ashe’s unfortunate early views on women in the sport.
As activist Amahle, Maxine Eloi grills Ashe on the consequences of his appearance making the apartheid government look more progressive. Juan Isler and Natalia Soto provide strong support. But Benitez all but deletes Ashe’s agency, focusing instead on his supposed victimization at an academic conference in Stellenbosch and his near-framing for sexual improprieties, before the tennis star is depicted humbly heading home after a second-place win at the Open.
True, Ashe did not fit the profile of the African-American athlete in revolt as Muhammad Ali and Bill Russell did. Still, to all but erase his ultimate achievements is a disservice to a quieter man who still did much to change the world.
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