Everything Turned Black: Charter Theatre's Bold Comic Play

THROWING POLITICAL CORRECTNESS to the wind, Arlington's aptly named Charter Theatre ventures to places no properly assimilated American citizen would dare to go, at least not in public or a racially mixed crowd.

Even the title of the theater's latest production — "Am I Black Enough Yet?" — raises an eyebrow or two. Is this meant to be humorous? Or even maddening? Or maybe it's some abysmal exploration of the derivation of the source of the word "black"?

Fortunately, playwright Clinton Johnston decided an etymology lesson wasn't in order — and that contemplating our varying fractions of pigmentation doesn't have to be a drag.

Woven from a series of smaller pieces, "Am I Black Enough Yet?" is a fluid and usually hilarious examination of race relations both national and abroad.

After asking the audience to shed their various ethnicities and be "black for the night," the five-person cast then speeds through numerous stereotypes and misconceptions to debunk the idea that there is some sort of common black experience.

And between the burst of hysterical laughter as the "International Slang Council" gives a
whoop, whoop for the latest street vernacular or when college roommates duke it out because the one from Philly doesn't think the one from Africa is "black enough," it's almost possible to think it can be as simple as making everyone "black for the night."

» Charter Theatre, 3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington; through May 3, $10; 202-333-7009

Photo courtesy Ray Gniewek