In 1965, when Lonne Elder III wrote Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, no one dared to stage it. The story of a Black family grappling with grief and crime, it touched on topics rarely discussed openly at the time. After some revision, however, it premiered in 1969 at the Saint Mark’s Playhouse, produced by the Negro Ensemble Company; a film adaptation came out in 1975, directed by Kirk Browning and Michael Schultz. This revival of the play at St. Clement’s, directed by Clinton Turner Davis, stars Norm Lewis as Russell Parker, a widowed father of three who lives above his barber shop in 1950s Harlem. While his sons Theo and Bobby try to make a living through illegal activities, his daughter, Adele, earns money responsibly. She strives to protect her brothers from danger, but when the boys’ ventures take a bad turn, the family is tested like never before. —Jeanne Malle