Sept. 11--In the early 1970s, Michael Manley, the head of Jamaica's People's National Party and the newly elected Prime Minister of that Caribbean nation, displayed an admiration for, and developed ties with, Cuba's Fidel Castro. This new coziness between the two charismatic leaders did not sit well in Washington, D.C., where Americans hardly relished the prospect of two Soviet-influenced countries in easy striking distance of Florida.
Thus the Central Intelligence Agency became interested in the encouraging of political opposition to Manley and his socialist views. Manley eventually softened his opinions, and Jamaica became a more peaceful tourist and cruise-ship destination, encouraging the flow of visitors from America and the dollars that accompanied them, and allowing its own citizens to travel without undue duress. But Jamaicans of a certain age certainly recall a period when it was illegal to move large amounts of foreign currency off the island, when many guns were flowing to the island from abroad, and when it was virtually impossible for Jamaicans without huge clout or major financial resources to get a visa to go the United States.
"Jamaica Farewell," the very appealing new solo show at the Royal George Theatre, is the first-person story of one beautiful, young and ambitious Jamaican woman who had the challenge of coming of age at that very moment of intense Jamaican turmoil, and who wanted very much to go to America. The story of Debra Ehrhardt is hardly unique, but it is told with a certain self-deprecating panache as she describes her romantic liaison with a CIA agent, which leads her to figure out a way to smuggle off the island both large amounts of cash and, of course, herself.
The end of the story is never in doubt -- Ehrhardt is, after all, standing right there before you on a stage in Chicago -- but you feel some of the storyteller's peril as she navigates the potholes and personality of the island, not to mention the Manley security forces, driven to succeed only by her own life-force and accompanied by a huge briefcase stuffed full of American dollars. Crucially, Ehrhardt is a very likable on-stage presence and her show not only works as a personal memory of living amid one of the more tumultuous eras of that island and its warm-hearted people but also as a useful and timely reminder of just how much such immigrants risk to reach this country. If ever there was evidence for the argument that immigrants to America have often been the most tenacious and fearless citizens of their home nations -- hence their willingness to work and innovate in the place they have tried so hard to reach -- Ehrhardt is that example. The times and the origins change, but not the desired destination. Nor the immigrant's determination.
I first saw Ehrhardt's show at the Chopin Theatre in Chicago in 2012. She's now moved uptown with a somewhat fancier and faster moving production, directed by Joel Zwick and produced by Hershey Felder on the mainstage of the Royal George Theatre, the lobbies of which Felder has redecorated and generally made much more inviting (this show is "Royal George Hello" as well as "Jamaica Farewell"). But this is basically the same show. I liked it then, and I still like it now.
"Jamaica Farewell" is a modest entertainment that does not reinvent the form, and you might argue that Ehrhardt's personal history is insufficiently distinct, even with all of her dramatic embellishment. It's a fair point. But I'm fond of Jamaica and its people -- and the Jamaican community in Chicago is larger than you might think. Ehrhardt authentically paints the colors of the island, even as she wants only to flee its shores. If you've ever driven across rural Jamaica, as I once did, you'll recognize the sights, sounds and smells of Ehrhardt's dramatic dash for her future.
In 2012, there was more of a coda to the show, which now has been cut. That's a shame -- what Ehrhardt is actually doing now is relevant. We spend 85 minutes getting to know her younger self and we're more than willing to learn a little more of what this quite remarkable woman has become.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@tribpub.com
REVIEW: "Jamaica Farewell"
3 STARS
When: Through Oct. 11
Where: Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St.
Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Tickets: $50 at 312-988-9000 or theroyalgeorgetheatre.com
