If you make one commitment for this early summer season, make it to see Joe Morton in “Turn Me Loose,” the greatest role of his acting career to date, as he portrays the comedian and activist Dick Gregory.
Sure he earned an Emmy for his villainous role as Rowan Pope on the popular ABC-TV series “Scandal,” but in this live production, he hits you with the piercing reality of the civil rights struggle and the depth of his pain as he reflects on the assassination of his friend and fellow activist, Medgar Evers, and the death of his young son, Richard Jr.
In this new Off-Broadway biographical play written by Gretchen Law and directed by John Gould Rubin, Morton introduces Dick Gregory’s accomplishments and aspirations to a younger generation, who grew up long after the turbulent Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Early in the play, Morton imitates Miles Davis’ gravelly voice stating, “you know you are a funny [expletive]. One day you are going to be big.” During those days, they called Gregory the Black Lenny Bruce. He says, “I always wondered why they didn’t call him the Black Dick Gregory.”
In a most dramatic and comedic fashion, Morton covers Gregory’s life from the early 1960s, when his career began to peak, to the present, in this fast-paced 90-minute show. Some of the earlier jokes, including the Lenny Bruce crack, can fall flat if you aren’t a member of the old school, but in this day of institutional racism, most hit home.
During a telling moment on Gregory’s first night at the Playboy Club, he is told not to go on because the audience consists of white southerners in town for a frozen food convention. Not to be deterred, he goes on and after some rather touchy heckling Gregory’s witty responses win out.
On another gig he tells a heckler, who insisted on using the N-word, “You know I have a clause in my contract that states every time that word is used, I get an extra $50. So please keep going, as a matter of fact, would the entire audience stand up and yell ‘nigger?’” Everyone in the audience stood up, however, there was only one Black young lady, who actually yelled the word.
The second actor on stage is John Carlin, who serves as the heckler, cab driver, TV interviewer and night club MC.
The play’s key point, which Morton delivers so brilliantly, is Gregory’s ascension from prolific comedian to America’s guru for Blacks, liberals and white college students. Through wit, humor and life experiences, Gregory spoke about politics, social change and health.
Gregory’s dilemma was whether to follow fame or his deep commitment to the Civil Rights Movement. Through his progression from comedy to lecturer, he found a way to drop humor while actively pursuing equality.
One of his later observations noted, “President Obama proved to me that all Black folks don’t look alike. Since he has been in office not one person has come up to me and said ‘Hello, Mr. President.’”
He shared with the audience his run for president as a write-in candidate in 1968, and pulled in 47,000 votes. “Turn Me Loose” highlighted Gregory’s college tours, where he once said, “I thought poverty was a disease, but realized that racism is the worst disease on the face of the Earth.”
Gregory’s most noted books include “Nigger,” “No More Lies,” “Write Me In” and the health book, “Dick Gregory’s Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat.” This book (Harper & Row, 1973) convinced me to stop eating meat, cold turkey.
Dating back to the 1970s, I saw Gregory at least 15 times. For me, his New York performances were mandatory, and Morton’s dynamic portrayal reminded me of Gregory’s significant role in comedy and civil rights. Morton has appeared in more than 70 films, but many still remember him from his role in “Brother From Another Planet” (1984).
“Turn Me Loose,” is now playing at the Westside Theatre (407 W. 43rd St.). For tickets, call 212-239-6200.
The Vision Festival, known for its annual embracing of the most innovative musicians on the planet, returns June 7-12 to the Judson Church at 55 Washington Square South in the West Village.
Opening night, June 7, celebrates a lifetime of achievement by Henry Grimes. Opening invocation begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by the bassist/poet appearing in various configurations. At 7 p.m., the Henry Grimes Quartet features the pianist Geri Allen, cornetist Graham Haynes, drummer Andrew Cyrille and Grimes on bass and violin.
At 8:30 p.m., songs written by Lisa Sokolov to Grimes’ poems will be sung by Meshell Ndegeocello, Iman Uzuri and Karma Mayet Johnson accompanied by bassist Grimes. At 9:45 p.m., he leads a septet.
Grimes, a native of Philadelphia studied at Juilliard, and by the late-1950s, he began performing with saxophonists Gerry Mulligan and Sonny Rollins, pianist Thelonious Monk and singer Anita O’Day.
At age 22, he played bass with six different groups at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, although he was not even scheduled to play, with the likes of Benny Goodman, Lee Konitz, Tony Scott and Thelonious Monk.
His music explorations led him to the avant-garde arena, playing with pianist Cecil Taylor, the saxophonists Archie Shepp, Steve Lacy, Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders.
Since Grimes’ returned to New York and music in 2003, after being found in California on the brink of destitution (the bassist William Parker donated a bass), he has played at various venues around New York, on U.S. tours and in 30 countries around the world. When the octogenarian is not playing, he writes poetry, with five books to date.
June 8 at 8 p.m., the poet Quincy Troupe (the author of “Miles and Me” and the “Autobiography of Miles Davis”) will drop his always swinging verses. At 9:40 p.m., the Sun Ra Arkestra celebrates its 60th anniversary, led by alto saxophonist Marshall Allen.
June 10 at 9 p.m., a tribute to the late violinist Billy Bang, featuring poet Bob Holman and bassist Todd Nicholson, will hit the stage and at 10:30 p.m. Michele Rosewoman’s New Yor-Uba performs. June 11 at 7:30 p.m., the Hamiet Bluiett Quartet appears, with the adventurous Bluiett on reeds, D.D. Jackson on piano, Bob Stewart on tuba and Hamid Drake in drums. At 9 p.m., Pulitzer Prize nominee and trumpeter/composer Wadada Leo Smith and Viola Quartet + Electronics will perform “Pacifica.”
Tickets are $40 per day and $25 students and seniors. A full pass is $200and a VIP pass is $30.
June 5, Vision features Sun Ra Films at Anthology Film Archives. For a complete schedule, call 212-254-5420 or visit the info@artsforart.org.