Quintessence’s ‘Giovanni’s Room’ is only the second official adaptation of James Baldwin’s work. Does it deliver?

In line with Pride month, Quintessence Theatre Group presents the world premiere of the play adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1956 novel Giovanni’s Room, adapted for the stage by Benjamin Sprunger and Paul Oakley Stovall.

Baldwin’s novel was criticized both for its depiction of a same-sex relationship between two men, as well as its all-white cast of characters. At Quintessence, director Paul Oakley Stovall upholds that casting, but actors of color appear in the ensemble as understudies.

Actress Phylicia Rashad served as creative consultant.

Set in 1950s Paris, Giovanni’s Room follows the story of David, a young American man waiting for his girlfriend to return from a trip to Spain. While he waits, he has an affair with a man named Giovanni, an Italian laborer with a temper, and begins to share a room with him.

The play starts on what we know is a dark day for David, but we do not fully understand the depth of it until we are taken back and told the whole story.

David (Ethan Check) appears to whir us through time as he recalls the days he spent with Giovanni (Michael Aurelio). What follows is an equal-parts somber and sexy recollection of David’s time in Paris as he struggles to keep his relationship with Giovanni under wraps and in control. While David and Giovanni’s attraction to one another is undeniable, David refuses to admit his feelings, instead pursuing his relationship with his didactic, fast-talking girlfriend Hella (Shelby Alayne Antel). Meanwhile, David appears to be haunted by his past traumas, including the memory of Joey (Rafi Mills), a boy from his school days.

K. O’Rourke’s movement direction creates beautiful sequences of choreography that add an element of romantic poetry to the scenes of intimacy, counterbalancing the aggressive scenes of conflict. The choreography extends into all of the swift and precise scenic transitions, as well as in how every actor carries themselves and moves their bodies from spot to spot.

Everything is fluid and rolling, as if a samba could start at any moment. Ensemble member Patrick Zhang’s suave, silky movements in particular stand out, even in scenes where he is only milling about the space.

Arranged in a thrust configuration, with the stage extended into the audience with seating on three sides, the set primarily features a prominent second-story balcony of a multipurpose building that pushes much of the action into the downstage area that becomes bars, hotels, parks, and, of course, Giovanni’s room.

An odd storytelling device is used in moments where letters are read out. An ensemble member comes out with a live camera, and the reader of the letter is projected onto the balcony. The effect feels incongruent to the rest of the stagecraft of the play.

Unlike the original book, which is written in first person from David’s perspective, the play’s audience is not privy to the inner workings of David’s mind. That, mixed with underrealized subplots involving the ghosts of David’s past, makes the play feel chopped up, as if full chapters were taken out of the book and not accounted for in this adaptation.

Perhaps it would have been better to keep David’s musings from the source material and repurpose them as monologues for him to deliver. As David and Giovanni’s fates turn darker, we begin to lose access to David’s emotions as he begins to lie to everyone, especially himself.

Without an emotional through line, it is difficult to grasp the significance of how this James Baldwin adaptation strives to meet this moment. Surely, as only the second official Baldwin adaptation of its kind (after the film adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk), and in a moment where the American government seeks to pull back rights for queer people, Quintessence’s production and adaptation of Giovanni’s Room contextualizes itself within that significance.

While Baldwin’s source material remains ripe with wisdom like “What’s the good of an American who isn’t happy?” Sprunger and Stovall’s adaptation feels lacking.

While the production was able to harness choreography to mirror the poetry in the dialogue, David’s story feels haphazard and hard to follow at times. The inclusion of minor characters from the novel muddies what could otherwise be a fine adaptation and overall production.

The final moment of the play is left an open question, perhaps in hopes of giving audiences something to deliberate on the ride home. They are, instead, left unsatisfied, as if the lights have come back up before the end of the whole story.

(Community/Arts)

Benjamin Sprunger and Paul Oakley Stovall have adapted James Baldwin’s 1956 novel Giovanni’s Room for the stage. The story of David, Giovanni, and Hella gets told through some excellent choreography and interesting stagecraft.

⌚️ Through July 6,📍 7137 Germantown Ave. 🌐 quintessencetheatre.org

Theater reviews are produced independently by The Inquirer without editorial input by their sponsor, Visit Philadelphia.

The article has been updated to reflect the exrension of the play’s run.