Set in the Ancestor's Books & Breakfast Shop, in a small Southern town, where every breakfast is served up with a volume of black literature, Shay Youngblood's play is a strange blend of family saga, voodoo tale, and would-be poetic fantasy. The shop is run by three generations of black women. Baybay (Karen Roberson) is a belligerent, thwarted woman, on the prowl for a new man and a new scene. Her strong, witchy mother, Ruth (Barbara Roberts), communicates with the ancestors—who may be buried in the basement—through a broken hearing aid and the talking bones. Baybay's daughter Eila (Tiffany Stanley) is young and naive but possesses some of her grandmother's powers.
When a young poet named Oz (Avory Allen) comes to the door, Ruth immediately sees him as a possible mate for Eila. Meanwhile, Baybay has taken up with fast-talking con man Mr. Fine (Donn Harper). She believes he'll take her away to a glamorous life, but he seems more interested in getting his hands on the shop, which he wants to turn into a hotel-nightclub. A further subplot tells us that Eila was fathered by Ruth's man Boston. He seduced the adolescent Baybay, who still blames Ruth for breaking up her perfect romance.
The tale is told in Saroyanesque soft-boiled "poetic" language: "Poets are born with pencils in their teeth and paper on their tongues." "I bleed honey between my legs." And plot issues are never explored or resolved. Instead, Eila concocts a magic soup, made of words, smiles, love, compassion, and valentines, that converts everyone to easy, smiling virtue. Thus the play is denied any real payoff.
It's unfortunate that Youngblood couldn't bring more logic, rigor, and structure to her play, because all other elements are first-rate. Rayel's direction is deft, the set by Marco de Leon is handsome and quirky, and the fine cast brings enough charm and conviction to hold our interest, despite script weaknesses.
Presented by All the Way West Productions and Harry Jones at the Ruby Theatre at the Complex, 6746 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Jan. 26-Feb. 25. (310) 604-8158.