Unlike some of Michael Bradfords contemporaries, whose attempts to address a variety of social issues leave the audience overwhelmed, Bradfords Fathers and Sons is a tribute, albeit a depressing one, to the power of the theater. Though its billed as an exploration of what it means to be a man, the play also tackles love in a romantic but complex way and war in a straightforward yet gut-wrenching way. After Marcus Goodwater (Reginald Andre Jackson) inadvertently loses his son at the park, his wife Yvette (Tracey A. Leigh) rages off to her mothers, insisting that Marcus kill everyone he sees until he finds her baby. His formerly non-communicative, drug-addicted father, Leon (William Hall Jr.), chooses this moment to fly in and reconcile their relationship, but hes haunted in turn by the ghost of his own father, Bernard (Wilbur Penn). Leon is sure of his mistakes but unsure how to fix them, and Bernard seems sure he hasnt made mistakes, though no one else would agree. While time shifts between the present, where Marcus deals with his father and searches for his son, and the past, where we see the budding romance of Marcus and Yvette, Fathers and Sons maintains nonstop, fluid motion. BRENT ARONOWITZ Mostly 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.; double-check Web site for exact schedule. Ends May 25.
Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: April 25. Continues through May 25, 2008
