‘The Story’ is more than just a journalistic tale

These days journalists aren’t merely writing headlines. More and more, they’re making them -- to their editors’ and publishers’ chagrin.

Tracey Scott Wilson’s intriguing play “The Story” resonates with two scandals involving promising African American reporters: Janet Cooke, the former Washington Post writer who was exposed for fabricating a feature about an 8-year-old heroin addict that won her a Pulitzer in 1981; and, more recently, Jayson Blair, the ex-New York Times wunderkind who was exposed for fictionalizing not only his resume but also news stories he was supposed to be covering.

Of course, there’s also Stephen Glass, the New Republic’s white Ivy League star who took a rather creative approach to writing supposedly factual magazine articles, as the 2003 film “Shattered Glass” sensationally chronicled. Glass’ disgrace can also be glimpsed in Wilson’s handling of a phenomenon that’s threatening to become the new New Journalism.

But the real subject of “The Story,” which had its West Coast premiere Friday at Long Beach’s International City Theatre, goes beyond the ethical breakdown of recklessly ambitious hacks. The play expansively examines the contradictory pressures on an African American woman who wants to achieve something that her white colleagues never have to think about: success that’s purely her own, not a symbol for her community.

Yvonne (Jennifer Shelton), a newbie at a major urban daily newspaper, has been assigned to work in Outlook, a section focusing on human interest stories in the African American community. Boasting a killer resume (Harvard grad, summa cum laude; Sorbonne), Yvonne makes clear to everyone that she has no intention of being what she calls an “Ebony Jet Jr.” for long. Her plan is to move quickly into Metro before conquering the national desk.

Pat (Judyann Elder), her editor, isn’t impressed with Yvonne’s sloppy reporting and doesn’t appreciate having someone on her staff who considers her section a steppingstone, especially given how hard she has fought to carve out a space for African Americans at the paper.

When Yvonne breaks a story about the murder of a wealthy white man who was devoting himself to teaching in the inner city, she circumvents Pat by bringing the scoop to her white boyfriend, Jeff (Jeff Marlow), who happens to be an editor in the Metro section. Pat, in turn, assigns Neil (Michael Craig Patterson), one of her ace reporters, to investigate Yvonne’s claims, which she finds suspicious. At question is Yvonne’s source, a mysterious girl gang member with a genius IQ whom nobody else can track down.

Irregularities in Yvonne’s background and reporting quickly emerge. But rather than spin another tale about a wayward journalist, Wilson, moving from scene to scene like a theatrical quick shot, leaves the plot unresolved to concentrate on the confrontational relationships Yvonne finds herself trapped in. Described derisively by Neil as an “uncertain sister,” she reveals just how hard she has to fight not to be defined by expectations others have of her.

Wilson exposes the story behind the story, which is exactly what we want dramatists to do. Though the play may rush somewhat awkwardly to its open-ended conclusion, it has both the insight and anger to ask the complex human questions that all too often get edited out of our superficial news cycle.

The production, directed by caryn desai, is serviceable if a bit overstated. The actors tend to indicate their character traits rather than inhabit them. But they nail the essential outline of Wilson’s provocative drama with clarity and compassion.

*

‘The Story’

Where: International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays

Ends: May 21

Price: $37 to $42

Contact: (562) 436-4610 , www.ictlongbeach.org

Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes