Interpreting an Interpretation: A David Mills Performance

On the night of Tuesday, November 1, 2011, David Mills stood on stage, alone facing the crowd, performing Langston Hughes. I heard it’d be fantastic, but before the event, I had a preconceived notion that I wouldn’t find it interesting. An unintentionally preconceived notion, that is. After all, I’m not a fan of Langston Hughes or much of poetry for that matter. So a performance of Langston Hughes’s poems? Not a recipe to satisfy my taste buds.

I did my best to rid myself of those horrible notions and as I walked in to the show (a bit late, unfortunately), after ten minutes or so, I got into the vibe of the performance. Quite interesting, I must say. I admired how fluidly Mills transitioned from character to character. His emphasis on voice, tone, accent. All astounding. Even though the performance was minimal, in terms of props, scenes, cast, and costumes, it was still entertaining. Imagination played a huge part in making up for the lack of a setting, but his acting carried on well enough that I wasn’t imagining the whole scheme of things. I naturally understood the scenes.

While I do believe that the performance was interesting and fun, I didn’t find myself completely captivated by it. If anything, I was captivated by his enthusiasm and tonal changes. (The only performance that captivated me was the one of Elder Jones nailed to a cross – Rock, Church is the name of the short story.) But maybe I’m asking too much from the show. The subject matter just wasn’t my cup of tea.

In addition to performing Langston Hughes’s works, Mills performed one of his own poems, Great Adventures. Fast-paced, funny, a roller-coaster of tone and emotions. I found that piece delightful in its packaging and deep in its meaning. Putting my biases aside, overall, Mills delivered a pleasant one-man show.