If you’re closing out a 42-year career as a theater professor, what better way to write that last stage direction, “Finis,” than with a play about the theater? As such, Brad Myers offers Fresno State his directorial swan song with Lolita Chakrabarti’s historical drama “Red Velvet.” (It continues for three more performances through Saturday, Dec. 14.)

[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”18″]Pictured above: Jimmy Haynie is stellar in ‘Red Velvet.’ Photo: Miguel Gastelum / Fresno State[/perfectpullquote]

The bottom line is that Myers’ company makes the most of a literate script and delivers a well-rounded showing, led by a powerhouse performance from Jimmy Haynie as Ira Aldridge, the expansive talent trying to drag meager-minded Shakespeareans into the future along with him.

[Enter a Herald with a proclamation; People following] – stage direction from “Othello”

We first meet Aldridge in Poland in 1867, after he’s recovered from an illness that nearly ended a run of “King Lear.” An encounter with a young journalist who asks the one wrong question – “Why did you never return to perform in Covent Garden?”– sends Aldridge into a tailspin of memory where race, politics, and art collide. In 1833, when the young American arrived at the Theatre Royal at Covent Garden to play the title role in “Othello,” he became the first-ever Black actor to play a significant role in Shakespeare in London.

And comedy ensues. As does tragedy, of course.

Related story: 5 Things to Know about Fresno State’s new production of ‘Red Velvet’

What follows is a series of indignant, impassioned, and at times funny exchanges about everything theatrical including acting styles, whitewashing, audience reactions, and theater’s purpose as a didactic art form. In 1833, there were riots in the streets over the abolition of slavery throughout the British colonies. In 2024, we are often still rioting, and these conversations are still happening in rehearsal rooms everywhere.

[Enter OTHELLO]

Haynie is nothing short of astonishing as Aldridge. Carrying himself with grace, he has a voice and bearing that fills the stage and the gravitas of an inheritor of Aldridge’s esteemed legacy. He navigates the tricky turns of resentment, volatility, and enforced sanguinity of an artist long thwarted by prejudice, revealing how compelling a character Aldridge must have been at the time.

[Enter DESDEMONA, IAGO, and Attendants]

The supporting cast is very even in terms of acting skill and has few weak points — no small feat given that three of the actors were understudies at Tuesday evening’s performance. Standouts in the ensemble include German Gutierrez, Jr. as Pierre Laporte, the theater manager and fickle ally to Aldridge, Caroline Herling as actress Ellen Tree, who takes to Aldridge’s innovations with curiosity and elegance, and Nico J. Divicarro as a repugnant and self-indulgent Charles Kean, the actor most opposed to Aldridge’s presence on the stage. Also notable are Marazay Ashford (maid Connie) and Kylie Brasseaux (journalist Halina) — both understudies — for holding down their pivotal scenes with Haynie with great aplomb.

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The rest of the ensemble keeps the rhythm of the play drumming steadily on, whether through the touching earnestness of understudy Sage Rivera as novice actor Henry Forrester and Jacob Hensley as Terence, Aldridge’s dresser, or through the humorous embellishment of Beyonce Rodriguez-Fabela’s clueless Betty or Brandon Weis’ wry Bernard.

[Opens the letter, and reads]

“Red Velvet” also offers a sense of restrained spectacle, thanks to Dominick Callahan’s scenic design, with its rich theatrical fabrics and efficient selection of furniture. Liz Crifasi makes the most of subtle lighting choices at pivotal moments, and Kelly Pantzlaff Curry’s costumes are period-appropriate but light enough to relish their movement.

The staging and direction are elegant and nearly seamless. Every element works together so well that the audience’s focus is entirely on the drama. My very minor complaint is that some blocking choices undermine the characters’ actions due to clunky placement over furniture or awkwardly delivering important moments to the void upstage. Luckily, these moments are few and far between in this otherwise polished production.

[Exeunt]

And the production begins and ends with Haynie. His performance also illustrates how such unique talents are pressured to become thinner, fainter versions of themselves to survive, even to this day.

All in all, “Red Velvet” is a distinctive capstone for Myers’ Fresno State oeuvre. Guiding a cast and crew to such a compelling result shows his deft hand for directing young actors and creating memorable theater in Fresno.

“Red Velvet” continues at the John W. Wright Theatre at Fresno State through Saturday, Dec.14.