On opening night of the play, “Spunk,” the stage came alive with that same spirit and audacity that Zora Neale Hurston wrote about many years ago.

The cast, all six of them, lit up the stage combining their talent in a toe-tap’n, blues sing’n, rendition of these three short stories that were written during the Harlem Renaissance, a literary movement sparked by prominent African American writers in the 1920s and ’30s.Adapted by playwright George C. Wolfe, and directed by James Utz, the play is full of action displaying the hardships and conflict that the peopleHurston wrote about faced when dealing with the issues of love, money and survival. The spunk these characters displayed proved to be a necessary survival skill that they used just to get by.

The first story, “Sweat,” is the story of a young woman, Delia, (played by Danielle Thrower) who is abused by her husband, Sykes (played by AlonzoGradford).

Sykes finally pushes Delia over the edge by terrorizing her with a snake, but Delia overcomes this torture and Sykes’ plan backfires.

The second story, “Story in Harlem Slang” is a tale of two smooth-talking gigolos, Sweet Back, (played by Gradford) and Jelly (played by Tedaryl Chapman), trying to out con each other.

The last story, “The Gilded Six Bits” is a bittersweet story of betrayal between a husband, Joe, (played by Tory Spirling) and his loving but innocent young wife, Missie, (played by Thrower).

This last story includes a lively dance number by Thrower, Chapman and Spirling that had the audience ready to do some stompn’, shoutn’ and toe-tap’n right along with them. The stories were told through narration and blues singing, with the blues guitar music played by Joe Pacheco, who did an outstanding job.

Vickie Bradley did a very decent job in her debut as the blues singer woman. She, Pacheco and the rest of the cast, had the audience clapping and cheering throughout the entire play. Thrower, Gradford, Chapman and Spirling were versatile in playing their multiple roles and they didn’t miss a beat. There is some serious talent here.

Although the stories dealt with more serious subject matter, the play was high spirited and entertaining. Definitely worth seeing.

The play continues through March 18. For more information or tickets, call 278-4323.