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March 15,1990 • Southern Voiced
Counterculture
Junebug Jabbo Jones: Modern Day Myth Maker
John O'Neal's and Michael Keck's collaboration is a powerful testament
by Charlene Ball
Ain't No Use in Going Home, Jodie's Got Your Gal and
Gone: Sayings From the Life and Writings of Junebug
Jabbo Jones, Volume III continues John O’Neal's com
pelling saga of the Black American experience. Volumes I
and II featured O'Neal—actor, former civil rights activist,
and college professor—in solo performances as an almost
mythical storyteller named Junebug Jabbo Jones. Through
his stories he shed light on American history from an
African-American perspective.
Junebug III adds music and a second player: the highly
talented actor/composer Michael Keck. Together the two
actors present a fast-paced, poetic, witty and political look
at an infrequently seen side of the American experience.
A sound collage of 1940's radio music sets the mood.
Keck and O'Neal then proceed—using dialogue, mono
logues, song, stylized actions—to relate a saga of one fam
ily's involvement with the military. And by extension, to
examine some of the ways that Blacks—particularly
men—have been seduced by the military with promises of
opportunity and a chance at economic improvement. The
father of the family wants his sons to join the Army in
order to better themselves. They resist. The elder, Al, final
ly gives in and is destroyed, losing his legs—and more
importantly his will to pursue his dream of becoming a
musician—in a Korean battle.
Al's dream is carried on by younger brother Joseph, but
not without struggle. Joseph goes to college and falls in
love with a committed civil rights activist. Their relation
ship radicalizes him and they break up because he insists
on putting his music first.
But even without" her influence, his activism continues.
He winds up wanted by the FBI because he has burned his
draft card so he goes underground, playing one club after
another under a collection of assumed names. Hard times
and a battle with drugs produce a moment of clarity and
Joseph begins to emerge from the degradation that has
dogged him.
Throughout Joseph's story, Junebug acts as a listening
post—a wise commentator and supportive presence.
Junebug is a mythical figure, a voice of the American
Black experience in all its variety. He pops up all over the
place: Korea, where he is nurse to the wounded and dying;
Thailand, where he sees affinities between that land and
Mississippi; and in Oakland, where he meets the manic
musician Joseph, troubled by his dreams. The Biblical par
allel is intentional: Joseph, the younger brother, is rejected,
struggles and—through his ability to interpret dreams,
especially one about a train rushing though the night—
finally survives and triumphs.
The show is powerful and theatrical. A number of
pieces stand out: Joseph's description of the fateful train;
the original songs composed and performed by Keck; and
a scene in which both actors—wearing porcelain-like
masks, using stylized gestures and Army ponchos to sug
gest kimonos—play Japanese characters.
And Junebug III explores a variety of themes. Among
the most interesting: the relationship between art and poli
tics; is an artist as good as an activist? Men's roles and
masculinity get close scrutiny; Joseph's father insists that
he learn to hunt, but Joseph insists, "I don't like dead birds.
I like them better in the sky." And the rap that that opens
the second act draws parallels between various forms of
oppression: of women, of gays, and of people of color
around the world.
Keck and O'Neal work well together—the former
explosive, youthful, sometimes filled with demonic energy;
the latter quiet, supportive, omnipresent. They share a gen
tle and subtle rapport that invites the audience in, as if we
were part of the conversation. Each plays a variety of roles.
Keck is particularly impressive when he plays a woman
with small, restrained movements, a shrinking in, and the
very antithesis of his equally well-drawn, hilarious drag
queen in Splendora several years ago. O'Neal's portrait of
a street addict is so real that it chills the soul.
Despite its title and despite the ostensible focus on the
military, the play, has a gentle, tender quality.
Junebug III deserves to be seen. It is of specific interest
to gay men and lesbians because it makes specific parallels
between oppressions and shows how they are alike. It
describes a distinctly male experience, but it is an experi
ence that has thought about itself, that has thought about
the implications of male roles.
The night I saw Junebug III only seven or eight people
were in the audience, yet the actors gave fully as much as
if the theater had been full. And at the end, they congratu
lated us on being a good audience. Let's hope they soon get
the full houses they deserve.
Junebug III plays at Seven Stages Theatre through
March 25. March 14 and 21 are "pay what you can
nights." For performance times and reservations call
523-7647.
WEDNESDAY
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