Pearl Cleage’s new play fondly recalls the Maynard Jackson era in Atlanta

Cleage, who served as both Jackson’s speechwriter and press secretary, has dug through her many journals to capture the zeitgeist in her latest play, “Something Moving: A Meditation on Maynard,” running for 10 days at the Alliance Theatre beginning Aug. 2. It will be the centerpiece of a citywide celebration of the mayor’s historic three-term tenure.

“It was great to go back in time and remember how idealistic we all were,” she says. “We had this intense camaraderie of people fighting together, working for monumental change. Maynard was only 34 at the time, making him one of the youngest big-city mayors in the country, and I was 25 and fell in love with the city. I’m 75 now. I wanted to bring those memories to Atlanta, so this is, in a way, my love letter to the place I call home.”

Cleage takes an elliptical, impressionistic approach to his subject. Although the play centers on Jackson, who died in 2003, his character never appears on stage. In his fictional world, city leaders have set up trash cans throughout the city to collect mementos of the mayor, and thousands of heartfelt letters pour in. Cleage carefully selects the perspectives of nine of these anonymous “citizens” and one “witness” to reflect on the mayor’s personal impact on them.

“I think a lot of playwrights get bogged down in fact, but I wanted to explore feelings,” she says, “not to give a timeline, but to express what you’re feeling at that moment. These characters, who come from different backgrounds and are portrayed in different contexts, are not based on real people – they’re purely drawn from my imagination.”

Credit: Courtesy of Alliance Theatre

Credit: Courtesy of Alliance Theatre

David Koté, who directs the production, explains: “It’s not a historical reenactment. It’s more of a poetic and introspective play that explores the essence of the mayor as well as some big themes like power, identity and the quest for justice.”

The cast includes some of Atlanta’s most celebrated actors, including Margo Moorer, Tony Vaughn and Terry Burrell. The play is Cleage’s fourth project with Burrell, who says, “I didn’t even read it before I agreed to do it, because that’s how much I trust Pearl. She’s a reliable performer for a number of things: She always has the facts. She writes strong, compelling voices for women, and as a playwright, she lays out a very clear road map for the actors to follow, which makes my job easier—which isn’t always the case with other writers.”

Since her time in politics, the lithe, elegant Cleage, with her cropped hair, has become one of the South’s best-known public intellectuals. She is the Tony Award-winning Distinguished Artist in Residence at the Alliance and is currently Atlanta’s first female poet laureate. She recently won the Dramatists Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Actors’ Equity Foundation’s Paul Robeson Award.

“Pearl is more than just an Atlanta artist; she’s a treasure to the world,” Koté says. “She’s known all over the world.”

Cleage first gained national recognition in 1997, when Oprah Winfrey selected her debut novel, “What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day,” for her book club, propelling it to the top of the New York Times bestseller list for nine weeks. True to the author’s penchant for big themes, it explores HIV/AIDS, race, sexuality, gender and class through a relatable female protagonist.

“I don’t start with a problem,” she says. “For me, everything always starts with a character. I have to think of a character first before I can tackle the other problems, because I have to live with that person for a year. It usually takes me a year to write a novel or a play.”

She has written four other novels and a memoir. Part of a “power couple” who has a daughter, Cleage is married to writer Zaron W. Burnett Jr. They collaborated on a children’s book with the late artist Radcliffe Bailey, “In My Granny’s Garden,” which was distributed to 15,000 Atlanta children, as well as a poem commissioned by Winfrey called “We Speak Your Names.”

Impresario Kenny Leon directed the 1995 premiere of his play “Blues for an Alabama Sky,” which recently closed its Los Angeles run under Phylicia Rashad, and Cleage’s “Flyin’ West” was at one point the most-produced new play in the country.

For all her affection for Atlanta, Cleage is not an Atlanta native. She grew up in Detroit. Her mother was a teacher and her father, a pastor, founded the Shrine of the Black Madonna.

“My family was very involved in the civil rights movement and very civic-minded,” she says. She attended Howard University for a time and then graduated from Spelman College in 1969, where she caught the political bug.

“There was Maynard Jackson, larger than life, an imposing presence in every way,” she recalls. “When I first saw him on television, I said, ‘Wow! Who is this guy?’ and everyone around me said, ‘The next mayor.’ I knew I would do anything they asked of him. He seemed to know everyone in the entire city and never met a stranger. He genuinely cared about people. I don’t remember any of our employees ever taking a vacation, we were so determined to make things happen.”

What were some of these accomplishments?

“Jackson didn’t just impact minorities,” Koté says. “He impacted everyone, he made all of us feel like we could dream big and achieve our dreams. He created prosperity for the entire city. But he didn’t just contribute to the economy, he created the Office of Cultural Affairs, expanded the airport, and let’s not forget to mention the Olympics. He literally brought the world to Atlanta, he put us on the world stage, so to speak. He paved the way for other black leaders. It’s an impeccable legacy that still resonates today.”

Cleage adds: “What Maynard started continues and continues to wreak havoc. I look at my daughter and I marvel: she never lived in Atlanta when there was was not “I’m an African-American mayor. That’s why I have such affection for this place. It’s a dynamic place with endless possibilities.”

“Something That Moves: A Meditation on Maynard.” Aug. 2-11. $30. Alliance Theatre, Hertz Stage, 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-733-5000, alliancetheatre.org