Review: ‘What I Learned in Paris’ misses the mark

Playwright Pearl Cleage’s “What I Learned in Paris” is set in the early 1970s amidst the excitement and jubilation of Atlanta’s election of its first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson Jr. In 1972, Maynard’s election was seen as the crowning achievement of the Civil Rights Movement and its leadership, who had emerged from the city’s established Black middle class anxiously anticipating the arrival of its own version of the New South. 

Without that sense of time and place, “What I Learned in Paris” (directed by Lou Bellamy) seems lost in a parody about the changing roles of women in society and marriage, and less about the conflict between “the movement” and a feminist awakening. The dialogue sums up the tensions between the Civil Rights and feminist movements: “One confused Black woman is no match for the flow of history,” and “the Movement is bigger than you and me.”   

The play’s protagonist, Eve (Cyceril Ash), is the veritable pot-stirrer who returns from San Francisco to Atlanta to resume her role as social gadfly and tormentor to her ex-husband, J.P. (Lester Purry), a longtime political ally of the new mayor, who suddenly finds himself a top candidate for a prominent role in the new administration. 

Unbeknownst to Eve, her ex-husband is pretending to be married to a much-younger, naïve Ann (Lauren Steele), who is secretly involved with J.P.’s lawyer and political aide, Johnny Boy (La’Tevin Alexander), while aide Lena (Vinecia Coleman), serves as the voice of reason. Eventually, the love triangle (or quadrangle) unravels in this comedy of errors, leaving the audience wondering what, if anything, did Eve learn in Paris, when she says, “I don’t know if I would have fought so hard if I had known the revolution didn’t allow for love.”

Without the playwright’s backstory, it is difficult to unravel the meaning of “What I Learned in Paris.” Cleage, who is a playwright in residence at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and a prolific author, journalist, essayist and playwright, was once married to Michael Lomax, a prominent figure in Atlanta politics. 

Lomax, who previously ran against Maynard when he sought a third term as mayor, dropped out of the race and now heads the United Negro College Fund. Ironically, Cleage has written about her infidelity during her marriage to Lomax, which is why the production seems to miss the mark. Art imitating life is sometimes less interesting. 

“What I Learned in Paris” is at the Penumbra Theatre, 270 North Kent Street, St. Paul, MN, through May 14. For tickets, contact the box office at 651-224-3180 or email info@penumbratheatre.org.