In the 1974 play "The First Breeze Of Summer," there's a lot going on… too much, in fact. And while this family drama has its moments, it's overwritten and by the end terribly overwrought. This dated work about a wise family matriarch would seem so much fresher if it had gained the wisdom that less is best.

Punctuated by gospel interludes, the story concerns three generations of an extended black family in the 1970's. We meet young brothers Nate and Lou. Their father Milton and mother Hattie seem to have a strong marriage. Milt's feisty sister Edna lives nearby and their elderly mother Lucretia is the beloved matriarch.

Playwright Leslie Lee weaves in scenes from Lucretia's youth, shifting back and forth between past and present. Juxtaposing the relatively stable lives of the Edwards family, the young Lucretia struggled with poverty, prejudice and three doomed relationships that yielded three illegitimate children. But through it all, she was able to emerge a positive, spiritual woman.

It's clear the playwright was aiming for a portrait of a decent God-fearing black family. But he also wanted to tackle some thorny issues that plague black America: financial inequities, sexual stereotypes, feelings of inferiority and shame.

The result is a play that can't decide whether it wants to be a sitcom modeled on "Good Times" or far more serious fare like "A Raisin the Sun." And the ending completely falls apart when Lee shifts focus to give an absurdly melodramatic finish.

Director Ruben Santiago-Hudson is stymied by the play's excesses. He does a much better job with the tender scenes, particularly the heartbreaking turns of fate for young Lucretia. The game cast, featuring real life brothers Jason and Brandon Dirden works awfully hard, but sadly the material is too wildly divergent to be believed. Even Leslie Uggams' saintly Lucretia is eventually undone by some soap opera histrionics.

First Breeze is an awfully windy play that comes dangerously close to parody. The work is clearly well-intentioned but when the audience laughs at the play almost as much as with it, you know something ain't workin’.