The Wrong kind of People by George W. Corbin

By Joe Straw

A few years ago I saw the film Moonlight story by Tarell Alvin McCraney, screenplay and directed by Barry Jenkins. At the time there were no names in this film, and the budget appeared to be modest, shot in Florida, a lot of night scenes, and watching it I thought to myself, this film cannot be this good.  I watched transfixed being riveted by every moment in that film.

The Wrong kind of People by George W. Corbin is wonderfully written and masterfully directed by C. Julian White and it gave me that same feeling. But this time it was live theatre and I was having a heck of a time.  – Narrator

The time is 1942

Straight-laced Theo Rawling (Ken Ivy) is rushed into his hotel room by Rodney (Damon Rutledge).  Rodney goes by the name of Fixit because of events soon to be realized.  Fixit introduces him to the wonderful accommodations of “The Negro Room”.  

The Negro room is set aside as the “only room left” when colored folks checked into this particular hotel.  The patron’s option was to take it or, leave it.  And judging by the looks of the room, most patrons left. It is all part of the Guardian Hotel’s plan to satisfy their insurance requirements.

Theo has just completed law school at USC and tells Fixit that he has little choice for leaving as his mother has paid for his accommodations.  He needs a room, a little peace and quiet, and time to study for the bar. And, it’s convenient to UCLA - near where the exams are to take place.  

Theo, despite the look of the room, decides to take it forgiving the smell, the dirty walls, weathered carpeting, and the stale musty sheet coverings on the beds, table, and chair. If fact, the room, with its nasty blinds on the window, looks like a storage room with boxes littered throughout.  

Fixit removes the sheets, gaging in the process, and takes the storage boxes out of the room understanding that Theo is not leaving. But now Theo is in a predicament.

In the course of their discussion Fixit gives Theo a quarter and tells him that he is his lawyer despite not passing the bar yet.  And because he is his lawyer Fixit lets it be known that the room, which they now occupy, will be a place where certain illicit events, played by various guest will be entering through the window.  His job will be to let them in and keep quiet about it.   

And there’s some change for Theo should he decide to participate.

Finding new gems in Los Angeles is the reason for coming to intimate theatre and in particular The Robey Theatre Company, a company that has been putting up exceptional work at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

George W. Corbin has written a marvelous play, an oblique comedy that was enjoyable from start to finish. The Wrong Kind of People is smartly written and clever in every sense of the word. The characters are multi-dimensional and the dialogue takes this viewer back to 1942.  Placed perfectly, in the screwball comedy era of the 1940s, this show never lets up.

The term the wrong kind of people refers to a specific incident where a home seller sells to someone who is not the right color setting the neighborhood off in public, using that polite term, but offering rants and racist incriminations in private.

C. Julian White directs the show and immediately one is caught off guard by the physicality of the characters, highlighting moments that are exceptional during the course of the night. The entrances of each character are as a force of nature, with dramatic conflict, almost like a hurricane blowing through one room with one character unable to close the doors and or shutter the windows.

L - R Darrell Philip, Stephanie Schulz, Damon Rutledge (back), Ken Ivy, Chauntice Green and Stephen Tyler Howell

All of the actors were exceptional but I want to speak to the characters and their performance.

Chauntice Greenis Mex, a woman from Macon Georgia, a woman who could pass for white or Latino, and a call girl.  Her entrance is wonderful as she comes out swinging her purse to unfamiliar faces. Mex is a woman with a heart of gold but understands that she wants to get out of the business and discovers a wonderful opportunity. Green hits all the right notes and is exceptional as she moves from one moment to the next.

If there is one performance you should not miss this year, it is Darrell Philip’s Judge Purdy.  As the inebriated Judge there is not a single space in the room he does not touch in character gamboling about with pratfalls, rolling on the floor, lying on both beds, smoking on the dresser, drinking, and speaking Latin.  In his state, he is intelligent, well spoken, and one of the nastiest people on the planet. And, he brings his gun, an inexplicable impulse, espousing his “2^ndAmendment right” as he runs out the door to fetch his wife.  It is a roller coaster of a roll and, by all accounts, the single most successful performance you will see this year!  

Damon Rutledge as Fixit has incredible moments.  Fixit is a man with a dream and it looks like his dream is coming to fruition so everything has to go right on this night.  Normally the characters would have been coming into an empty room but because things have changed, Fixit has to change his tactics. There may be more for Rutledge to add during those moments.  One did not fully get the idea in the first scene that Theo being there would disrupt all of Fixit’s plans. For Fixit, this is a life and death situation.  If he doesn’t get this done tonight, he will never get this done and lose the biggest opportunity of his life.  

Ken Ivy plays Theo and plays the straight man throughout.  There may be more to add in this role.  In a key moment Theo puts on a uniform because the others want him to. This appears to be a pivotal moment in the play for this character.  Is he a bellhop, janitor, or, is he a lawyer?  How does he examine his life at that moment?   What does he do, most importantly, to show that he is a lawyer during the course of the night? Also, when will he join in the game?

Occasionally you find an actor that just makes you laugh and Stephanie Schulz is that actor.  She plays Mrs. Purdy, a loving wife to Judge Purdy.  But now she is in another room banging the lights out of another man, a younger one, and one that will satisfy her every need. She also has a shady past and one that she hasn’t yet set aside. She loves, she is loud, abrasive, and will to do anything to help her husband now that they’ve got themselves into a whole lot of trouble.

Stephen Tyler Howell(nice name by the way) is “Spider” Shultz. He has a nice voice and a nice presence but really needs to work on his hair to give it that ‘40s look.  Shultz is the man with the big bucks who demands the card game goes on tonight. He is abrasive, and bossy but will not fight under any circumstances. There is more to add to the character and a stronger creative objective would help.

 Others members of this delightful crew are as follows:

Joy Smith – Associate Producer

Michael D. Ricks - Lighting/Set Designer

C. Julian White – Sound/Music Developer

Naila A. Sanders – Costume Designer

Kayla Owens – Assistant Costume Designer

Eric Taylor – Property Master

Sorile Reeves II – Production Stage Manager

Eric Taylor – Assistant Stage Manager

Ian Foxx – Photographer

Jason Mimms – Graphic Designer

Phillip Sokoloff – Publicist

JC Cadena – Social Media Ambassador

Run! Run! Run! And take a special character in your life! Especially, one that loves unexpected events in his or her life.

The Wrong Kind of People is about 85 minutes and with no intermission.