One reason the production lacks more of these moments is its setting. Certainly a cast should be able to pull off a realistic play anywhere, but the orchestra pit of an ornate theater is perhaps not the best place to try.

In choosing to not use the stage proper, director Naeemah A. White brings her show closer to the audience, at the expense of some necessarily awkward staging and the distraction of the Agassiz Theatre's elaborate architecture. A better solution might have been to seat the audience onstage with the actors, as more intimate Agassiz shows have done in the past.

Otherwise, White has not misstepped, either in her choice of this stunning script, her direction of the actors through moments of high tension and comedy, or the silences that can be the most difficult moments of all to fill on a stage.

Third and Oak is a nest of treasures, touching on contemporary issues of relationships between men and women, history and future facing the African-American community, while maintaining the universal appeal that marks any truly great literature.

The Black CAST production captures some of the show's best moments, but often simply does not have the experience to pull off others. Although The Crimson saw the play during its final dress rehearsal, the show would benefit from further rehearsals and performances to truly seep the actors into their roles.

It is a shame that the show ran for only one weekend. Hopefully, Black CAST will maintain it in some form as a repertory show. It certainly merits the exploration and exposure that a future run would provide.