Way up in the sky

Birdie Blue

Through May 11

Directed by Leah C. Gardiner

City Theatre

Lester Hamburg… Birdie Blue

Through May 11

Directed by Leah C. Gardiner

City Theatre

Lester Hamburg Studio

(412) 431-CITY

“I’m sure glad you’re here,” Birdie says to you as she steps onto her front porch, located in City Theatre’s Lester Hamburg Studio. You have become the welcomed company of Birdie and her husband Jackson. Feeling as if you are sitting in a porch rocking chair instead of plush seats, Birdie tells you her poignant and heartwarming life story as she and Jackson prepare to take a trip.

We meet Birdie as she sits at the foot of the bed, clipping Jackson’s toenails while he sleeps (a labor of love no doubt, considering his arms are tied to the bed posts). Going through trunks and bringing up memories, Birdie readies things as she prepares to take Jackson on a trip on the 35th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, a day that changed Birdie’s life.

Speaking in a slow, molasses drawl that pulls us into her world, we witness some of her hardships and share in some of her joys. We watch as she struggles to love the man she married, even though he’s no longer that same man. Through visits from family and friends, past and present, we are able to see what has made Birdie “a tough broad and a tender lady.”

Her husband, Jackson, is played by Ernest Perry Jr. Perry’s considerable credits include regional stage performances as well as appearances in “Liar, Liar” and “The Color of Money,” and serves as spokesman for Wrigley’s Big Red gum. Perry compellingly conveys his character’s deteriorating health. Starting out as forgetful of small things, we watch with sadness as Jackson becomes violent toward Birdie, but cries like a child an instant later.

His performance shows us not only what it’s like to be ill, but how it affects the caretaker as well. Perry’s task also demands he portray the other characters in the show, Birdie’s family and friends. He successfully defines each character, but at the same time, he allows elements of Jackson to shine through, gracefully connecting all the characters.

Irma P. Hall plays the title role. With an extensive list of stage, screen and film credits, theatergoers may recognize her from such films as “Soul Food” and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” Hall makes the role of Birdie come alive. Her self-confidence makes us ready to believe anything she tells us. Hill seems to have taken a piece of everybody’s grandmother and rolled them into one. Her humorous line delivery gets Birdie though every situation and helps pull the audience through it as well. As she imparts her wisdom and experience at every turn, we learn that the “Lord gives you no more than you can handle … but he doesn’t mind breaking your back in the process.”

The intimacy of the Hamburg Studio is perfect for this production. As the audience members become companions on Birdie’s stroll down memory lane, the small space places them in their home. Cheryl L. West’s marvelous script smartly deals with issues not usually given a voice. She explores the struggle of being a caretaker and of love when it has reached old age. City Theatre has truly put together an amazing production that will capture the heart of its audience, leaving them with Birdie’s message that no matter what happens in life, you should “live like somebody loves you.”