'Not for Sale,' a History Theatre world premiere, is not quite there yet

There's something off about the blueprint-based set for "Not for Sale," which marks out a porch that's 19 feet wide and a living room that's 17 ¹⁄₂ feet wide, even though we can clearly see the living room is wider than the porch. There's something off about the play, too.

Rick Polenek's nimble set does a number of things well, naturalistically delineating a St. Paul home in 1965 while leaving room for dramatic license, with images projected on its back wall to underscore the themes and context of this world premiere.

Kim Hines and Barbara Teed's play also has merit. That's most evident in a well-constructed scene when two couples playing bridge launch a heated argument about housing discrimination and as well as in the character of Ivah Weigel (Charity Jones). She agrees with Realtor husband Arnold (Andrew Erskine Wheeler) as he helps families of color buy homes in all-white neighborhoods but worries about the impact on her family.

Here's the thing, though: What is your appetite for a racism-themed tragedy that's all about how difficult racism is for white people?

"Not for Sale" is a true story, based on Teed's family, and it dovetails with other History Theatre plays that center on the experiences of people of color, including "Not in Our Neighborhood!" and "The Highwaymen." Of course, bigotry hurts all of us. But, on its own, "Not for Sale," which shows the Weigel family gradually losing its friends and livelihood, feels like it has chosen an odd part of this story to focus on.

That also has to do with the challenges of dramatizing the family's experiences. When one character says, "I should get off my soapbox," you may find yourself assenting. Too often, the people proclaim rather than converse ("It's sad that dignity for all Americans is such a controversial subject" is typical). There's a whiff of "Death of a Salesman" in "Not for Sale" but, unlike that classic, there's no sense of the texture and life of the central family and we're given little insight into the development of Arnold's heroism. What made him so different from his friends and colleagues?

Hines and Teed have the most success with Ivah, who functions as our window into the play. Jones is an actor who can find humor in even the unfunniest of situations. That helps her illuminate the contradictions of a woman who spends much of the play trying to balance competing feelings of anger, righteousness, fear and disappointment in herself.

It's through Ivah that "Not for Sale" occasionally veers from its talking points to explore humanity. She underscores that there's a compelling, even urgent story to tell — in his introduction at the performance I saw, director Ron Peluso noted that he and wife Sue Scott are currently attempting to remove a racially restricted covenant on their home — even if the play isn't telling it perfectly.

'Not for Sale'

Who: By Kim Hines and Barbara Teed. Directed by Ron Peluso.

When: 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Feb. 27. (Also streams Feb. 17-27.)

Where: History Theatre, 30 E. 10th. St., St. Paul.

Protocol: Masks and vaccinations or negative COVID test within 72 hours required.

Tickets: $30-$53, 651-292-4323 or historytheatre.com.