As Much as You Can starts off with scattered character introductions, much like the pilot for an offbeat cable-channel sitcom. Main man Jesse details to a friend his non-traditional family tree and characterizes its members as “separate but equal.”

Yet Paul Oakley Stovall’s comic drama proves to have more substance than your typical dysfunctional-clan pudding. It builds to a climactic scene that is achingly relevant in the wake of the 2008 election, when black Californians voted heavily for Barack Obama but also strongly for Prop. 8, which banned gay marriage.

Clearly those results stirred Stovall, who says in the program notes that he rewrote the play extensively after its Los Angeles run, adding scenes and changing the ending. Although the work remains the story of a particular — and peculiar — family, its message surely resonates to a wider audience.

Stovall plays a variation on the “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” theme. Jesse, a gay African-American who left home early and for years has been living in New York, far from his family, is heading back to attend his brother’s wedding. And he’s taking along his longtime love, Christian (or, depending on the program page, Kristian), but Jesse is worried that his family won’t accept Christian — not because he’s a male, but because he’s white.

Kevane La'Marr Coleman, Ida L. Rehm

Photo by Ken Jacques

That seems a strange concern because the family already includes a half-white sister, from the late father’s dalliance with another woman. Yet she too has had to deal with feelings of being an outsider. Brother Tony, who’s accepted Jesse’s homosexuality, at first resists Christian, but quickly mellows when the siblings meet in a bar. The major hurdle, it turns out, is older sister Evie, who dominates the household with the Bible as her guide. Spicing this stew is longtime family friend Nina, who embraces life with bisexual verve — and gets many of Stovall’s best lines.

Finally gathered, the siblings do typical family activities — playing cards, teasing, chatting, reminiscing and bickering, but the tension is palpable between Jesse and Evie, exacerbated by Christian’s presence. At last comes the emotional confrontation, the shouting across the chasm of beliefs about gay marriage. Jesse is obviously Stovall’s surrogate, but Evie isn’t treated unsympathetically. Clearly, she loves her family and wants to do what she deems best for them. For Jesse, that means convincing him that his life’s course is taking him to hell.

As so often in family disputes, the explosion clears the air. Subsequent scenes hint of reconciliation: Evie urges Christian to be Jesse’s partner in the family whist game, and Evie and Christian warm as they share their common interest in James Baldwin’s books. Evie, of course, favors the religiously oriented Go Tell It on the Mountain, Christian the homoerotic Giovanni’s Room.

The cast is sharply spearheaded by Kevane La’Marr Coleman as Jesse, Ida L. Rehm as Evie and Melissa Coleman Reid as the delightful Nina. Brian Mackey, as Christian, and Patrick Kelly, as Tony, are solid. Only Leticia Martinez, as Ronnie, occasionally showed her lack of experience, which will likely fade with more performances. The group’s quality is no surprise, given that the director is one of our town’s multitalented treasures, Antonio T.J. Johnson, who knows a thing or two about acting.

Jane Lamotte’s set is a family-friendly living room and outside bench, nicely delineated by Chris Renda’s lighting. Joan Hanselman-Wong’s costumes, most notable for Nina, and Jason Connors’ sound serve well. As Much as You Can is a Diversionary co-production with San Diego Black Ensemble Theatre.

One final note: Kudos to Stovall and the play for remembering and praising Bayard Rustin. “Who?” you might ask. Well, he was one of the mid-century heroes of the battle for civil rights, not just for African-Americans but for oppressed minorities everywhere. As Ronnie says, “He was refusing to sit in the back of the bus before anyone ever heard of Rosa Parks.” But his major role in the movement was largely downplayed then and is generally ignored now. One reason: He was, for a short time in the ‘30s, a Communist. But the main reason: He was openly gay.

Cast and credits