Reflections of a Heart

Based on the true story of an African-American World War II veteran named Isaac Woodard Jr., the clumsy but well-intentioned drama "Reflections of a Heart," from Steppingstone Theatre Company, offers a different perspective on race relations in the 1940s and '50s. Sgt. Woodard's brutal beating and blinding by a Southern police officer elicited the support of such personages as Woodie Guthrie and President Truman, yet Christopher G. Roberts' bleak play, which alternates between Woodard's sad fate as a poor street musician and his senselessly tragic past, may wrest only frustration from the audience.

We first meet the older Woodard (played by Roberts), as a drunk who can barely support his wife and children, when he is detained by a pair of detectives in connection with a robbery in his neighborhood. Throughout his interrogation, Woodard informs the detectives of the violence he encountered in the South and of his recovery. While "Reflections" remains buoyed by the resonant performance of its writer-director, the play's diversionary structure works against it. Long-form flashbacks often emerge out of nowhere, only for their stories to be instantly dismissed as irrelevant by detectives who have listened to Woodard relate them. For instance, the play suddenly confuses itself with "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" during a long segment in which Woodard awakens in a Veterans Administration hospital full of eccentrics and amputees.

Roberts, who is blind himself, has surrounded himself with a willing group of actors who frequently double roles. Reginald L. Barnes delivers eloquent narration with precision as Henderson, the ghost of one of Woodard's soldier friends. Chanel Carroll is sympathetic as Woodard's crusading wife, Rosie, while Jonathan Miles' vengeful Southern detective Wairing is truly despicable. Gillian Glasco plays Woodard's mother with much heart during an excellently staged nightmare sequence set during a storm, which features dexterous lighting and sound design by Kayla J. Goble and Margolin Lawson, respectively.


Presented by Steppingstone Theatre Company at the Clurman Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St., NYC. June 17–27. Tue. and Wed., 7 p.m.; Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. (212) 279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com.