Theater

“Permanent Collection:” Playwright Thomas Gibbons plays both sides of the race card in his beautifully balanced dialectic. Loosely based on the real-life controversy surrounding Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation, a financially beleaguered institution that endured charges of racism under the aegis of its controversial black director, the drama examines the nature of racial politics in a politically correct age, treating a complicated and emotional issue without cheap conclusions. Co-directors Harry J. Lennix and Dwain Perry ensure solid perform-

ances from unfaltering actors, many of whom are double cast.

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Ends Sunday at the Greenway Court Theatre, 544 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. (323) 655-7679, Ext. 100

-- F. Kathleen Foley