“EMERGENCY”: Performances are underway for Princeton Summer Theater’s production of “Emergency.” Written by Daniel Beaty and directed by PST Artistic Director Layla J. Williams, the one-man show runs through August 3 at Princeton University’s Hamilton Murray Theater. Above: Destine Harrison-Williams portrays a variety of characters, including a reporter and a poet, who react to the sudden appearance of a slave ship in front of modern-day Liberty Island. (Photo by Layla J. Williams)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Emergency is a one-man show that imagines a slave ship appearing in front of the Statue of Liberty — in the present day.

Written by Daniel Beaty, the play uses this provocative concept to probe numerous issues, particularly ways in which our culture, especially the media, reacts to significant and devastating events. The monologue is an unsparingly candid, yet often wryly humorous, meditation — from multiple viewpoints — on America’s history of racial injustice, from slavery to police brutality.

Beaty is an award-winning actor, singer, motivational speaker, and playwright whose works include Through the Night; Mr. Joy; and The Tallest Tree in the Forest (a play that examines Paul Robeson). He is the founder of I DREAM, an initiative that uses storytelling to help individuals and communities heal trauma. The biography on Beaty’s website describes him as a “social entrepreneur who lives at the intersection of art, spirit, and social change.”

Under the title of Emergence-See! the play premiered at the Public Theater in 2006. Re-titled Emergency, it subsequently was presented at the Geffen Playhouse in 2008. Beaty performed in both productions.

Princeton Summer Theater is concluding its season with Emergency. Artistic Director Layla J. Williams directs, working with a skillful creative team to create a thoughtful, versatile production that fully employs the talent that actor Destine Harrison-Williams brings to it.

Emergency is an apt fit for this season. Like Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy and The Last Five Years, this piece blends or alternates between time settings, reflecting on past injustices that affect characters in the present.

Notably, for the second production in a row PST has chosen a show written for a small cast. The Last Five Years is a duet that focuses on the dynamics of a relationship between an estranged couple; whereas Emergency lets a solo performer realize all sides of multiple interactions.

Harrison-Williams previously appeared as Jonathan Harker in PST’s production of Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy earlier this season. With the character of Rodney in Emergency, Harrison-Williams shares a passion for poetry; he has participated in WordSpeak Miami, a competitive poetry team. He shares in his program biography, “Through poetry slams and stage productions, I discovered the power of storytelling as a means of connection and catharsis.”

As soon as Harrison-Williams enters, his talent and energy are fully on display. He shifts seamlessly from character to character, using a variety of accents and vocal inflections. He glides exuberantly around the stage, and recites poetry with an impeccable sense of timing.

Music typical of a newscast blares, and a reporter announces that a slave ship mysteriously has “risen out of the Hudson River in front of the Statue of Liberty.” Pointedly, we will discover that the ship is named Remembrance.

The reporter interviews several bystanders for reactions to the ship’s appearance. Those interviewed include James, a homeless man; Ashes, who mistakes the ship for “the new Carnival Cruise;” a police officer; and a Black female scholar.

Later we meet Sharita Jenkins, host of a show titled America’s Next Top Poet; Rodney, a contestant on that program; Wakeem, another poet; and Reginald, Rodney’s father. We also encounter Clarissa and Peter, two 12-year-olds.

Beyond ensuring that all of the production elements work in tandem to support the script’s themes and vividly enhance the drama, Williams’ priority as a director appears to be varying the actor’s position on stage, to maintain steady pacing and visual interest.

A rising senior at Princeton University, director Williams is majoring in African American studies. As such, she feels that it is essential to include Emergency in PST’s season.

“Though set and written in 2008, the themes of Emergency remain pertinent,” the director observes in a program note. “Police brutality still takes lives. Rights we took for granted, such as being educated on African American history and Affirmative Action, have been revoked. And the complexities regarding intersectionality within the Black Community in America are rarely voiced.”

Yoshi Tanokura’s set enhances visual interest while economically keeping the audience’s attention focused on Harrison-Williams. Steps lead to a platform that represents the stage for America’s Next Top Poet. In the back is a lighted panel whose rows of squares suggest a window; this will be crucial in illustrating one of the speeches. The panel leans, perhaps offering the illusion that we are on a ship — the slave ship.

The significance of this is revealed when a Slave-ologist gives us a tour of Remembrance, describing in brutal detail the conditions on the ship: “By the time the Africans — the slaves —reached this point, they were so small and weak they could fit through this small rectangular window.” Via Reginald, we encounter the spirit of 400-year-old Chief Kofi, who identifies himself as “leader of the captured Africans who rode aboard this slave ship.”

Alex Slisher’s lighting aids in establishing transitions from one character to another. It also heightens dramatic tension, particularly in a scene in which a police officer stops one of the characters. The sound design by Alyssa Gil-Pujols adds immediacy to this moment, as well as giving newscasts and other media segments flashy music that artfully undercuts the gravity of the situations.

Because Harrison-Williams is onstage during the entire show, and extended pauses would detract from the flow of the piece, costume changes are impractical. Costume Designer Bex Jones solves the problem by outfitting Harrison-Williams in a costume that subtly underlines themes of the monologue while remaining adaptable to multiple characters.

In an essay posted in the theater Jones explains that certain words recur in the script, and in conversations with the director. Key words or phrases include “cycles,” “generational trauma,” “repetition,” “freedom,” and “intersectionality.” Jones explains, “Those themes led me to the two designs seen on the actor’s jacket: a pair of angel wings on the back and the flower of life on the front.”

In a central scene Rodney’s father tells him, “Beyond all the pain past and present, we are still here. Beyond slavery, civil rights, all the stories I was afraid to tell you, we have within us a spirit so powerful, it enables us not only to endure, but to overcome. Rodney, go tell the story.”

Seeing one performer portray multiple characters, from a variety of time periods, underlines the extent to which we are constantly shaped by those around us, in our past and present. Their stories inform ours.

What makes Emergency successful as a piece of theater is that we need to see an actor portray all of these characters — deliver their lines with a variety of mannerisms and accents — to fully appreciate this theme. It is rewarding to watch Harrison-Williams bring Beaty’s moving, multilayered script to life.

“Emergency” will play at the Hamilton Murray Theater in Murray Dodge Hall, Princeton University, through August 3. For tickets, show times, and further information visit princetonsummertheater.org/emergency.