Topdog/Underdog

 Topdog/Underdog
Golden Theatre
November 10, 2022 

Photo courtesy of Topdog/Underdog

The 20^th anniversary Broadway revival of Suzan-Lori Park’s Topdog/Underdog is magnificent.  It is an engaging and powerful piece of theatre.  This 2002 Pulitzer Prize winning play still packs a potent punch.  Kenny Leon has masterfully directed this piece with two strong, captivating actors.  Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are brilliant together.  The competition between their two characters is constantly present.  It continually builds with a visceral tension until it explodes in an unexpected climax.

Corey Hawkins & Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Photo courtesy of Topdog/Underdog

Lincoln (played by Corey Hawkins) is staying with his brother, Booth (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).  Booth is practicing dealing Three Card Monte to hustle on the street.  He wants to change his name to Three Card.  Lincoln has given up the cards and has a “real job.”  He is portraying Abraham Lincoln in an arcade, where people pay to assassinate him.  The brothers were abandoned by their parents when they were teenagers.  Each was given a five hundred dollar “inheritance” before their parents walked out on them.  Lincoln spent his, while Booth saved it, untouched.  When Lincoln loses his job, he reverts back to hustling cards.  Booth forces him to share his secrets on dealing.  While doing so, Lincoln wins his brother’s inheritance money.  This pushes Booth farther over the edge than either of them anticipated.

Corey Hawkins & Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Photo courtesy of Topdog/Underdog

The play’s effectiveness relies on the relationship of the two brothers.  They count on each other, yet are constantly trying to top one another.  One of the brothers explains that their father gave them their names (Lincoln and Booth) as a joke.  Their rivalry and bond were engrained in them from birth.  Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II find the rhythm to impressively create this dichotomy.  They are competitive allies, supporting each another one minutes, then seamlessly transitioning into high stakes opposition.  Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Adbul-Mateen are genuinely connected throughout the story.  Their moments of triumph and defeat are clear and critical to the momentum of the action. Their physical portrayals are distinctive, creating strong antagonism and making them equally enthralling.  

Topdog/Underdog is Suzan-Loir Parks at her best.  Director Kenny Leon connects every seed Ms. Parks plant throughout the action, delivering this piece to a stunning and shocking conclusion.  Don’t miss this production.  It is playing at the Golden Theatre.  

Domenick Danza

Venus

Venus

Signature Theatre

The Pershing Square Signature Center

June 3, 2017

Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

Suzan-Lori Parks’ Venus is a stunning testament to Miss Saartjie Baartman, and a stark and clear depiction of the abusive mistreatment of her alter ego Venus Hottentot.  This Signature Theater production is truly spectacular.  Director Lear Debessonet finds the power and meaning of the words, rhythm, and structure of Ms. Park’s writing.  Costume Design by Emilio Sosa combined with Wig, Hair, and Make-up Design by J. Jared Janas brings a crisp visual whimsy that magnifies the cruelty of society’s ignorance and behavior during that time period.  Matt Saunders utilizes shape and image in his Scenic Design to merge dark expansive space with realistic setting.

The year is 1810.  Miss Saartjie Baartman (played by Zainab Jah) is lured from her home in Africa with the promise of “making a mint” as an exotic performer in London.  She is abandoned and left to perform in a side show run by The Mother-Showman (played by Randy Danson), who quickly learns that men will pay extra to fondle her shapely body.  She is named Venus Hottentot, and soon becomes sought after by men in every city and town visited by the side show.  She is purchased by The Baron Docteur (played by John Ellison Conlee), and taken to Paris where he can study her anatomy.  His love for Venus overwhelms to him, yet this does not deter him from continuing his study and objectification of her as a biological species.

Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

From the first moment of the play we experience the character of Ms. Baartman as a loving and caring young woman.  The treatment of her as a non-human object is blatant and appalling.  Zainab Jah is warm, personable, and naive in this character.  She stands out from the rest of the cast due to the stylistic way they are all costumed and characterized.  Your eyes are constantly drawn to her while your heart follows her journey.  Kevin Mambo plays The Negro Resurrectionist.  This character serves as narrator, historic fact keeper, and personal story teller for Venus.  In one moment he is re-counting the cold, stark detail of this true story, then in the next he is connecting on a deep, genuine level to the injustice and abuse.  His performance allows the audience to historically and objectively take in the events and then process them on a human, emotional level.

Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre production of Venus is a gem!  Miss Parks' script is amazing.  She tells the story with biting humor and stark emotion.  The cast is a strong ensemble who shines in each individual moment they are given.  Unfortunately, the production closes on June 4. 

Domenick Danza

The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World

The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World

Signature Theatre

The Pershing Square Signature Center

November 26, 2016

Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

Suzan-Lori Parks’ The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World aka The Negro Book of the Dead is presently playing at the Pershing Square Signature Center.  The production rings with rhythm and repetition that brings a visceral understanding to Ms. Parks’ intention.  The ensemble cast is ignited with passion and deliver vocally powerful performances.  Director Lileana Blain-Cruz masterfully blends images, form, and pacing that evoke emotion and a clear connection to Ms. Parks’ themes.

In Ms. Parks’ words, the play is “about a man and his wife, and the man is dying… It is like a funeral mass in a way… his wife is trying to find his final resting place.”  She says the play moves like “free jazz” music and correlates it with “poet’s theatre, slam poetry, hip-hop, like a poetry slam.” 

Photo courtesy fo Signature Theatre

Costume design by Montana Blanco and wig design my Cookie Jordan visually represent the dying man’s heritage, starting from the Pharaohs of Egypt and carrying it through the twentieth century.  These iconic visual images show a strength and connection that one person’s life exemplifies.  The cast of eleven phenomenal actors embody each of these symbols and fill them with life that supersedes their stylistic representation.  

Whether you are new to Suzan-Lori Parks work or an avid follower, this production will evoke an emotional response.  See it and allow it to envelop you.  The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World aka The Negro Book of the Dead runs at Signature Theatre’s Pershing Square Signature Center through December 18.

  

Domenick Danza