Skeleton Crew

 Skeleton Crew
Manhattan Theatre Club
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
January 15, 2022 

Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

Dominique Morisseau’s Skeleton Crew tells a riveting, character driven story.  It is skillfully crafted with natural and engaging dialogue.  The action is full of conflict that builds to unexpected levels.  The Manhattan Theatre Club production is awe-inspiring.  Ruben Santiago-Hudson directed a stellar cast, who brings life and depth to Ms. Morisseau’s complex characters.

The Cast of Skeleton Crew
Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

The year is 2008.  Faye (played by Phylicia Rashad) is the union rep for the workers of a stamping factory in Detroit, Michigan.  She has worked there for twenty-nine years and knows everyone’s story.  Dez (played by Joshua Boone) is saving up to open an auto repair shop.  Shanita (played by Chanté Adams) is pregnant with her first child.  Reggie (played by Brandon J. Dirden) is the plant supervisor who started working the line fresh out of high school.  When Reggie confides in Faye that the plant is going to close down within the year, he asks her to keep the news to herself and help him negotiate a good severance package for the workers.  Everyone is expected to put in overtime and meet quota, and the stress builds as supplies and materials go missing.  Tempers flare when Dez refuses to undergo a mandatory search before leaving work.  Secrets are revealed, and Faye asks Reggie to step up for the workers.  When he does, Faye is forced to make a crucial decision to keep him from losing all he worked for.

Phylicia Rashad is solid and grounded as Faye.  She breaks the rules, yet has a strong sense of dignity and loyalty.  When the stakes are highest, Faye steps up and puts herself on the line.  Ms. Rashad plays this moment with heart and commitment.  In this crucial moment, the character’s true nature blossoms, and Ms. Rashad soars.   

Dominque Morisseau & Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

Brandon J. Dirden truthfully creates a conscientious and fair-minded factory supervisor in his character of Reggie.  As the action builds, so does his heightened state of stress.  Mr. Dirden’s connection with Ms. Rashad’s character is direct and genuine, and vital to the dramatic impact of the story.  Together they bring the action of the story to a stunning climax.

Joshua Boone and Chanté Adams have a strong chemistry as Dez and Shanita.  Their characters are at odds with one another throughout the play.  Mr. Boone portrays Dez with a rough, street-wise exterior, which slyly masks his sincerity and sense of hope.  Ms. Adams plays the optimistic Shanita with a low tolerance for games.  These two skilled actors create characters driven by a common need.  They bring a sense of continuity and endurance to the ending of the play. 

The scenic design by Michael Carnahan illustrates the degradation of Detroit in 2008.  The design extends outside the proscenium, reveling support beams and broken plaster.  It is further enhanced with vibrant projection designs my Nicholas Hussong.  Adesola Osakalumi performs his own choreography during the scene breaks, creating a sense of urgency in the need of the people of Detroit and the workers in the factory. 

Skeleton Crew is playing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre through April 30.  Don’t miss this stunning production of Dominique Morisseau’s riveting play. 

Domenick Danza

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

Theatre for a New Audience

Polonsky Shakespeare Center

March 23, 2019

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

The Theatre for a New Audience production of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is intense and compelling.  Director Shana Cooper constructs a country torn between loyalty and honor.  She shapes characters ruled by a strong lust for power.  The audience experiences a conspiracy commit high treason, the watches them collapse in a brilliantly staged climax.  Choreographer Erika Chong Shuch and Fight Director U. Jonathan Toppo collaborate to deliver a highly stylized and brutal battle that will leave you speechless.

Julius Caesar (played by Rocco Sisto) is celebrated and adored by the citizens of Rome.  A resentful Cassius (played by Matthew Amendt) meets with his brother Brutus (played by Brandon J. Dirden) to see how he feels about Caesar’s political ambition and dominance over the people of Rome.  With Brutus on their side, Cassius and Caska (played by Stephen Michael Spencer) feel confident they can build a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar.  After a soothsayer (played by Michelle Hurst) warns Caesar to “beware the ides of March,” his wife Calphurnia (played by Tiffany Rachelle Stewart) has a dream that the statue honoring Caesar that was erected by the people of Rome is oozing blood.  She sees this as an evil omen and begs her husband not to go to the Senate meeting.  Caska uses Caesar’s ambition against him to convince him to attend.  The conspirators are successful in their plan.  Brutus enacts a scheme to use Mark Anthony (played by Jordan Barbour) to get the citizens of Rome on their side.  He underestimates Mark Anthony’s loyalty and love for Caesar, and the people of Rome rebel. 

Jordan Barbour & Rocco Sisto
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Jordan Barbour delivers a flawless portrayal of Mark Anthony.  He is convincing when addressing the Senate conspirators.  He is genuine in his love for Caesar.  He skillfully and meticulously layers the scene at the funeral of Julius Caesar with sincere emotion and political manipulation.  His effect on the crowd builds and the power of his character is fulfilled.

Brandon J. Dirden portrays Brutus with the duality of the honor bestowed on him by Mark Anthony and the rebellious force needed to lead the conspiracy.  We feel for him when he is haunted by the ghost of Caesar.  We see the depth of grief when he receives the news of the death of his wife, Portia.  We also see his cowardice at the climax of the play.

The Theatre for a New Audience production of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is well conceived and directed.   The large and skillfully commanding cast all deliver strong performances.  It is playing at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center downtown Brooklyn through April 28.  Don’t miss it.

Domenick Danza