Black America today is at a crossroads, as it has always been, as it seems it will always be.

		'Dr. Goddess' Where: Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater, 542 Penn Ave. When: Friday 7:30 and 10:30 p.m., Saturday 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday 4 and 7 p.m. Tickets and information: Call ProArts at 412-394-3353 or online at www.proartstickets.org and www.drgoddess.com. Theater critic Chris Rawson shares his thoughts on "Dr. Goddess." April 6 preview: Niece of August Wilson comes full circle with one-woman show

After all, you can't choose a direction without first knowing where you are.

So it's good that Kim Ellis' "Dr. Goddess: A Homegirl's Homecoming," a fabulously insightful and surprisingly frank one-woman show playing currently at Pittsburgh Playwrights, has found an effective, succinct and artful way to communicate these complex struggles.

Through the portrayal of a wide swath of characters, from a well-intentioned and relatively progressive Southern belle to a high-minded incarcerated father, from a gospel rendition that calls for the audience to join hands, to a scathing -- and beat-boxed -- critique of materialistic consumerism and thuggish posturing, Ellis manages to hit upon the hopes, dreams and struggles of black womanhood in resonant and entertaining fashion.

It doesn't hurt that Ellis, whether onstage for Dr. Goddess or not, actually holds a Ph.D.

"I am the black child," the pigtailed doctor chants in singsong, as the first of many characters she portrays in the show. She is channeling herself as a young Catholic school girl, coming up on the Hill.

"Civilization hangs in the balance to see what I become," she continues, before switching gears to prattle happily about the Girls Club, then sings a snippet of a Jackson 5 tune.

The show in total operates this way, fusing Ellis' experiences growing up as part of a cultural community beset by domestic abuse, misogyny and poverty but emboldened by a proud history. She is informed as a woman conscious of the artistic quality and potential of hip-hop but horrified at its Faustian marriage with "gangsta" and "thug-life" nihilism.

Civilization, perhaps -- but certainly public perception, dignity and our children -- "hang in the balance."

Out of the mouths of babes, truly.

On a purely dramatic level, it's surprising to see diverse character portrayals in the tradition of Anna Deavere Smith's "Fires in the Mirror" paired with insightful commentary about popular culture and music. Ellis switches fluidly from the self-aware and proudly patriarchal bearing of a militant Ghanian to the strutting bluster of a single mother who's equally proud to hate her "baby Daddy."

Incorporating visual elements in the form of projected slides, singing and, in last Sunday's show, frequent and spirited audience participation, "Dr. Goddess" delivers a one-of-a-kind glimpse into the beautifully ascendant and undeniably powerful vision of one strong, educated and socially conscious black woman.