Using crime fiction to explore racial discrimination, is best known for detective novels built around private eye Easy Rawlins. Mosley has extended his books鈥� themes about societal problems faced by African Americans after World War II to a few plays, including The Fall of Heaven, in Fort Worth.
Seen last Sunday, the ostensible lead character is petty criminal Tempest Landry (Jalen Xavier), who dies at the hands of another sinner and must face St. Peter at the pearly gates. He鈥檚 sentenced to spend eternity in hell but uses a little known loophole to at least temporarily forestall his fate. The fall of heaven itself is at stake.
Returned to Earth under the supervision of Joshua Angel (Nate Davis), Tempest goes on a series of adventures to try to understand where he went wrong. 鈥淚鈥檓 damned if I do,鈥� he accurately says, 鈥渁nd damned if I don鈥檛.鈥�
Mosley鈥檚 twist is that the fable is really about Joshua, who has never occupied a human body before. At first, he finds the things that go with it to be strange and disturbing, then becomes seduced by feelings and relationships, not unlike the angels in Wim Wenders鈥� classic film Wings of Desire but without that masterpiece鈥檚 depth.
Instead, Heaven is an entertaining, sometimes comic look at human foibles as Joshua navigates the emotional side of being a man. He鈥檚 required to live like a regular person, including taking a job he initially hates in accounting.
He鈥檚 in charge of preparing tax returns under a demanding, unseen boss who simply yells from a neighboring office. Joshua gets involved with a woman and builds a family life that makes him question his previous existence, which included no concept of time or the workings of the human heart.
Though he鈥檚 witnessed the kind of events depicted in history books, he鈥檚 not quite ready for this.
At the beginning, Davis鈥� forceful yet monotone delivery is off-putting. But his deep voice and poetic style ultimately help explain his turn from an unquestioning servant to a man who has to make difficult choices and eventually embrace life.
The women in Joshua and Tempest鈥檚 lives are ably portrayed by Johanna Nchekwube, Becca Spencer and Christina Hollie, while Xavier too often under-delivers his lines. , who directs, keeps the action moving swiftly and clearly. The abrupt ending is a letdown.
A bit of menace is introduced with the arrival of Basil Bob (Brandon Wilhelm). Say it fast three times and you might figure out he鈥檚 鈥渢he top man on the bottom floor.鈥�
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