'Gris Gris' at UNLV runs a bit slow in spots

"Gris Gris," written by Daniel Du Plantis, winner of the Morton R. Sarett Award in Playwriting, is in the second weekend of its world premiere in UNLV's Black Box Theatre. As a person who has spent considerable time in New Orleans, I can attest to the fact that the set and the performances capture the essence, even today, of the Crescent City. I knew it well.

The play is set in New Orleans, June 1869, with two acts -- five scenes in the first and six in the second -- with a 15-minute intermission. It is based upon the life of Marie Laveau, known as the Voodoo Queen, and her namesake daughter-successor. "Gris Gris," pronounced "Gree Gree," comes from the French word for gray. It signifies a charm or amulet. Or it can be a chant or incantation capable of warding off evil or bringing one good luck.

Sheilagh Polk plays a regal Voodoo Queen, imposing, used to being in complete command. Polk has the physicality, but at the show we caught, was careless in her intonation. The sound was there, but words were occasionally lost. I was not alone in this. Sonya T. Evans is a fiery actress as the daughter in love with a son from a wealthy Caucasian family. Both mother and daughter are believable, especially in their confrontations.

Daughter runs off with her lover but eventually returns to assume the role of Voodoo Queen when her mother becomes ill. Mark Allen White portrays Gerald Delaune, young Marie's lover, a difficult, thankless role that he makes believable.

The play's pacing seemed slow, a fact easily adjusted, surely by the following night. It is only during the first scene of the second act, set in the French Quarter, when the mother confronts a contender for her crown, Madame Claude, in a sparkling vignette by Melasun H. Prince, that the action picks up. The battle between the two rivals rings with truth. Unfortunately, the action slowed down again in the next scene.

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