BY THANDISIZWE CHIMURENGA

ASSISTANT EDITOR

I’ll be honest: I was a bit concerned when I first sat down to watch this play at the Imagined Life Theater on a Sunday afternoon. I was told the performance would be two-and-a-half hours long and I immediately thought to myself, “Oh, Lord. What am I going to do for two-and-a-half hours?”

Fortunately for me, the answer became readily apparent within moments of the opening act: I was going to sit there and enjoy every minute of this performance.

“One Woman, Two Lives” tells the story of Samantha Cooke (played by Kellita Smith of “The Bernie Mac Show”), a homemaker, mother of three children, and the wife of Jonathan (Thomas Bell), the pastor of First New Harvest Church.

First New Harvest, a church with more than 3,000 members, was pastored by Jonathan’s father before him, and his mother Edna (exquisitely played by Esther Scott) is the former first lady of the church.

As the current first lady, Samantha has been chosen to receive an award from the church membership — one in which both women subconsciously doubt she is deserving of.

Belinda (Sharon Munfus), neighbor of the Cooks and best friend of Samantha, is a “worldly woman” who “keeps it real.” Her marriage to Michael (Sammie Wayne), a deacon at First New Harvest and Jonathan’s right-hand man, also holds a secret: Sharon is a survivor of a previously abusive relationship and a decade-old indiscretion by Michael that Sharon has never forgiven him for, one that she makes him pay for everyday, and everybody can see it. 

Secrecy is the obvious theme of this play (but judgment and fear are ever-present, looming just as large) — the need for secrecy due to the fear of losing everything that one has based on the judgment of others. Acceptance and forgiveness appear to be foreign concepts for the time being.

Samantha Cook loves her family and church. She works very hard to be the perfect wife, mother and homemaker. But Samantha comes perilously close to losing everything when her “long lost brother Melvin” shows up on her doorstep after a 20-year absence. 

The appearance of “Melvin” on the scene provides the twist to the story and the explanation of Samantha’s “two lives;” Melvin is actually Taylor, Samantha’s common-law, abusive and criminal husband when she was known as “Sheila,” a down-and-out woman hooked on crack cocaine.

Samantha’s fear of losing her family due to her unsavory past keeps her from telling them the truth. That decision causes more problems for Samantha, now that Melvin/Taylor has decided that a percentage of First New Harvest’s collection plate should be the price for his silence.

The part of Melvin/Taylor is usually played by Billy Mayo; on this day it was understudy Jason E. Kelley who played the part masterfully.

The interplay of the lie that has been told, the decision to hold off on telling the truth, and the danger that both decisions have now placed Samantha’s family in provides for the emotional and climactic final act of this play. It is a final act that reminds the audience that everyone has another life/story that resides in the past, including Mother Edna and Melvin/Taylor. 

“One Woman, Two Lives” takes place in The Imagined Life Theater, formerly known as the 2100 Square Foot Theater, so named because those are its actual dimensions. Although Kellita Smith gives a superb and at times gut-wrenching performance, for some reason, I just kept getting the feeling that if she had more physical room to work with she could have really let her character go.

A few minor stumbles and one or two forgotten lines, though noticeable, did not detract from this performance. All of the actors in this performance rose to the occasion and their chemistry made those two-and-a-half hours speed right on by.

“One Woman, Two Lives,” written by Alretha Thomas and directed by Denise Dowse, stars Kellita Smith, Thomas Bell, Billy Mayo, Sharon Munfus, Esther Scott and Sammie Wayne.

The play, for mature audiences only, runs through Aug. 23 at The Imagined Life Theater, 5615 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles. Show times are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 and are available through www.ticketweb.com.