“Man in the Ring” – Written by Michael Cristofer. Directed by Michael Greif. Presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through December 22.
Playwright Michael Cristofer certainly had his work cut out with him when he took on the charismatic, controversial, and complex Emile Griffiths as his subject in “Man in the Ring”, the moving and emotionally compelling drama currently playing at the Huntington. So strong was the piece, the performances, and the man that I couldn’t wait to get home and do some further research.
Emile Griffiths was born on the island of St. Thomas, one of eight children sired by different fathers. He and his siblings were left in the care of relatives while his Mammy went to find a better life for herself in New York. Emile’s relatives were abusive and stern. One of his chores was to carry water every day, and if he spilled even a drop, he’d have to hold cinderblocks over his head without moving for hours, sometimes all night. He suffered sexual abuse at the hands of an “uncle”. As a teen he was reunited with his Mammy in New York, and this is where young Emile Griffiths’s boxing career begins. Despite being a boy who likes to design hats, he has the physique and faculty for the sport, and under the tutelage of his boss, Howie Albert, and against his wishes, the course of his career is set.
The play opens with the older Emile (the powerful John Douglas Thompson) in a bedsit, struggling to remember the children’s song, “Brown Girl in the Ring”. His lover/caretaker, Luis (Victor Almanzar) is attempting to dress him, as he has an occasion to attend to. It’s obvious that Emile has some sort of dementia, and as he struggles to put on his clothing, his memory is jarred and a younger Emile (the charismatic Kyle Vincent Terry), fresh from the islands, emerges in memory as well as onstage. It is so artfully written and executed, the older man in his mind sometimes warning the younger one about his choices, and sometimes reliving them with him, that you can’t help but think about your own life. How much is choice and how much is fate? Despite Emile’s reservations about becoming a boxer, well, that’s exactly what he becomes – the money and adulation are hard to resist. Too many people, including Howie, his manager (the excellent Gordon Clapp) and his Mammy (an audacious Starla Banford) are egging him on, particularly as he’s providing them and his seven siblings with a tidy income.
Fate marks Emile throughout. Sexually he likes men and women, which bothers other people a whole lot more than it bothers him. When he tries to tell Howie about his proclivities, Howie silences him with, “In this world, a man is a man. That’s all.” In other words, don’t ask, don’t tell. But when a challenging boxer, Benny Paret (Sean Boyce Johnson) taunts him with “maricon” (a Spanish slur for homosexual) Emile responds in the ring with something that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
The emotional punch of “Man in the Ring” is greatly enhanced by Michael McElroy’s rich musical direction, which includes arrangements of traditional Caribbean children’s songs, often sung by the cast. The chanting throughout is powerful (“Go down the killer road, Emile boy”) representing the forces within and without us. David Zinn’s scenic design is a marvel, in tandem with the projection design of Peter Nigrini and Dan Scully – alternately bleak and bright. It’s Michael Greif’s seamless direction and his amazing cast that make the show undulate. The friend who came with me went home that night and purchased three more tickets for her kids as an early Christmas present. She was lucky to get them, as I think this show will sell out fast. For tickets and additional information, go to: https://www.huntingtontheatre.org/
