“Do you ever get the feeling that the planet is a bit wobbly? Like you’re waiting for something to happen? Well, don’t worry. You’re already in the equation.” — Joe Morton as Dick Gregory in TURN ME LOOSE

The Lovelace Studio Theater at The Wallis—home until mid-November to TURN ME LOOSE: A PLAY ABOUT COMIC GENUIS DICK GREGORY—was not a stress-free comfort zone the other night, and all the better for it. Occasional audience discomfort aside, Morton’s embodiment of Gregory’s attitudes, activism, and humor was a cathartic reckoning for the venue’s fortunate patrons, and recognized as such.

“My tongue was my switchblade. My humor was my sword.” — Morton, as Gregory

This empathetic look at show business through the prism of one man’s battle against the toxicity of racism was written by Gretchen Law and directed by John Gould Rubin.

“America is a country that puts on a new suit every year and never takes a bath.” — Morton, as Gregory

TURN ME LOOSE

Through November 12.

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

9390 Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills.

Joe Morton as Dick Gregory in Turn Me Loose; with co-star John Carlin (below). Photographs by Lawrence K. Ho.