Meeting “Langston Hughes”

This last Tuesday, November 1st, Allen, Victoria and I traveled together to the Macaulay Building for the Meet the Artist event about Langston Hughes. I must first say that I did not at all enjoy the performance. I didn’t. But, I did appreciate the effort of David Mills in interpreting Langston Hughes’ work.

David Mills was very interesting, to say the least. He moved from one character to the next with grace and art. It was, in its own way, very beautiful. He embodied each character he portrayed very convincingly. He used minimal props, set and lighting, but he used all of it effectively. Imagination was key in the minds of all the viewers. Without it, you would just think that David was a bit mental.

I honestly cannot say much about his performance because I never enjoyed Langston Hughes. I could not recognize the poems nor the short stories that he was trying to perform. I was a bit lost, so I could not enjoy it. But, I did appreciate his effort in trying to impersonate the characters of such an elaborate writer. Mr. Mill’s passion in the works of Langston Hughes was so apparent. It was the first “one-man” show I have ever seen, and it was very good.

He then treated all of us to an original of his own, “Great Adventures.” Now that was a poem I did enjoy. It showed how intelligent Mr. Mills is as well as his talent in the art of poetry. The one line I can remember from the poem was “I lived in Siberia… I mean Suburbia.” I was laughing at that line. It was a fast-paced poem with a lot of movement between stanzas.

All in all, David Mills is a fabulous performer. He is excellent at interpreting Langston Hughes. If I was more of an “English Poetry” lover, then I most definitely would have enjoyed the performance more. But, I appreciate his passion, effort and love for two great forms of art: acting and writing.