In 2009, playwright Lynn Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for drama with her play “Ruined.” It was the latest in her theatrical portrayals of African Americans and, most especially, women.

One of the most popular is her 2003 look at a turn of the century seamstress who created “Intimate Apparel” for society women but found her own life unraveling at the hands of a careless man. The beautiful South Bend Civic Theatre production of “Intimate Apparel” went all the way to national competition where  it took second place.

Leslie Ann Boyden (right) and Laurisa LeSure are teen-age sisters who struggle to adjust to 1950 Brooklyn in "Crumbs From the Table of Joy," current production at South Bend Civic Theatre.

No wonder then, that SBCT elected to begin its 2010 Studio season with an earlier Nottage drama, 1995’s “Crumbs from the Table of Joy.” For whatever reason, the story of a widower and his two teen-age daughters who move from the South to the harsh reality of 1950 Brooklyn  lacks the emotional  impact of her later work. The quintet of actors handles the frequently repetitive text well and creates a solid ensemble under the direction of Deborah Girasek-Chudzynski.

Some knowledge of the tenor of the times is helpful here. Segregation was still a noxious given. Father Divine, whose photo hangs in the living room much like that of the absent father in “The Glass Menagerie,” was a definite force among the black community in the 1940s and ‘50s and Godfrey Crump’s  blind devotion to the self-proclaimed “God” was not unusual.

While his daughters struggle with their new and frequently hostile environment, Godfrey (the solid Quinton McMutuary)  constantly writes down questions for “Sweet Father” to answer and even renames his daughters at the recommendation of the Harlem preacher.

Into this already tense household comes Lily Ann Green (Natalie Davis Miller), sister of the deceased mother, a smoking, drinking self-proclaimed communist. She obviously has an eye for the widower who, unfortunately, has none for her. In spite of this, she moves in.

The abrasive interaction is exacerbated by Godfrey’s return from an attempted flight with a new wife, Gerte Schulte (the marvelous Melissa Manier), who is white and German. The resulting upheaval takes its toll on Ernestine, 17 (Leslie Ann Boyden), who serves as frequent narrator, and Ermina, 15 (the delightfully spunky Laurisa LeSure), who is determined to go with the flow.  Ernestine has dreams of her own, enhanced by hours spent in the local movie theater, which do not include following her father into a dead end job in a local bakery.

The epilogue, although not as M-G-M-ish as Ernestine dreams, nevertheless offers glimpses of hope for the determined young woman.

“Crumbs From the Table of Joy” plays at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday in the theater at 402  N. Main St. South Bend. For reservations call 234-1112 between noon and 6 p.m. weekdays or order online at www.sbct.org.