'Second Line': A Worthy Pairing, Bereft of Spark

Playwright Seret Scott wants love to butt heads with civil rights, but is a heavily narrated memory play the best way to do it?

Scott draws on family history for "Second Line," the drama that opened last weekend at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, so perhaps her coolly judged sentiment is unavoidable. It's certainly a knowledgeable play, but this accomplished director's script courts the reserved, faintly academic staging that it's getting from Tribute Productions.

The two-character tale is basically a straight-up romance scorched by the political heat of the 1960s and '70s. Scott's characters -- who are among the few black students on an Ivy League campus -- do the "opposites attract" bit; Bennie is a career-oriented MBA candidate and JoJo is the radical activist who captures his heart.

Their timing, Scott suggests, is the stuff of tragedy, casting their slightly differing values into irreconcilable high relief. JoJo is almost physically drawn to the frontline protests down South (the title refers to spectators joining a funeral dance to appease restless spirits), while Bennie argues that there's equal value in finishing his studies and fighting the good fight from within the power structure. Finding common ground becomes literally impossible: She's off to the Delta and then to Saigon, while he scoots up the corporate ladder and works in Europe.

The play crests as Scott descriptively re-creates JoJo's activist leadership and the practical warnings that she issues her troops. Decorum matters when you're trying to win hearts and minds: "You must hold your skirt down," JoJo intones, "even when you're being stomped."

The authoritative, appealing Erika Rose is fervent and sad as JoJo, but even as she fiercely delivers rallying speeches, the play's presentational style slows it down. It's a snapshot without a lot of dramatic snap.

The lethargy is exacerbated by Bennie's wistful narration as he tells the tale. Bennie articulates the middle-class view and it neuters the play; while JoJo acts, Bennie waits and grieves and feels vaguely guilty about his success (although he "gives back" to the community in fine style). Jefferson A. Russell is persuasively savvy and conscientious in the role, but neither the romantic relationship nor the Big Issues sizzle enough to make you feel the pain on both sides of this love story/cultural divide.

Director Mary Hall Surface intuits Scott's dry, orderly style and responds with a carefully abstract blue set and a reflective literary tone. It's a tasteful, worthy show that lacks the spark of art.

Second Line, by Seret Scott. Directed by Mary Hall Surface. Set design, Tony Cisek; lights, Dan Covey; costumes, Timm Burrow; sound design, Matthew M. Nielson. About 90 minutes. Through Oct. 26 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Call 202-399-7993 or visit http://www.atlasarts.org.