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Amidst the spectacle and romance of musicals, the epic quality of Shakespeare and Greek tragedies, the knee-slapping enjoyment of comedies, the power of a drama can often be overlooked or underappreciated.

Valdosta State University Theatre & Dance’s “A Lesson Before Dying” will remind audiences of the theatre’s ability to not only make audiences feel and be entertained but to think. Based on Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, “A Lesson Before Dying” has an intellectual impact as deep as its emotional core.

Under the co-direction of Dr. John C. Gaston and H. Duke Guthrie, this production is an exceptional evening of theatre. Together, Gaston and Guthrie explore the depths of race and religion, of ambition and duty, of escape and responsibility. Some may think this number of themes is quite simply too many notes, but Gaston and Guthrie direct this performance like a symphony.

They are assisted by a talented cast of student performers. Clark Franzman is swaggering arrogance personified as white Southern sheriff Sam Guidry; John Holladay shows a caring depth as Deputy Paul Bonin.

From his distinct shuffling walk to the syncopation of his speech, Anthony Scott embodies the Southern preacher of the Rev. Moses Ambrose. As Vivian Baptiste, Diamond Do’zia plays a character that has both the hardness and sparkle of her first name — a woman who shines but one who will not tolerate fools.

D’Amante Wilson captures the duality of pain and faith in the aged Miss Emma Glen, her body may be bowed by age but her spirit remains unbroken. Miss Emma Glen is a woman who still believes in the souls of two young men she raised for better lives but who have disappointed her in their current predicaments: Jefferson, a young man facing a death sentence, who believes he is no better than a hog; and Grant Wiggins, a young teacher whose education was funded by the back-breaking labor of Miss Emma and others but is embittered by the responsibility of having to return to his Southern home to teach the area’s children.

Miss Emma commands Grant to teach Jefferson how to live before he must die. Jonathan Butts and Mark LaMont Hance play Grant and Jefferson.

Hance’s Jefferson is tragic yet inspiring. He brings tremendous depth of range and expression to this character. Given Jefferson’s early outbursts,  Hance accomplishes this with surprisingly subtle changes in his character.

Butts remains on stage throughout the duration of this show. His Grant is a conflicted man, bound by his own rage as much as the Jim Crow laws of this tale set in the late 1940s South. His frustration is palpable but Butts invests Grant with a soul that is understandable. Butts is outstanding in this role, a beautifully intimate portrait of a man at odds with society and himself.

From the lighting and music to technical effects and costumes, this show never strikes a false chord. The show’s opening-night standing ovation was well deserved for all on stage and behind the scenes.

 “A Lesson Before Dying” is an African-American story set in the Jim Crow South of the late 1940s but, like most brilliant drama, Gaston and Guthrie have created a production that transcends any one ethnicity, any one era.

“A Lesson Before Dying” isn’t so much a black story or a white story. It is a story that should resonate with all audiences. It is a human story.

And that may be this show’s greatest lesson of all.

VSU Theatre & Dance’s “A Lesson Before Dying” continues 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26; 7:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Feb. 27-29, Lab Theatre, second floor, VSU Fine Arts Building, corner of Oak and Brookwood. Reservations, more information: Call (229) 333-5973; or visit www.valdosta.edu/comarts Co-sponsor: 100 Black Men of Valdosta