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HEAR YE! AUDIBLES THEATER PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF: “GOOD ENEMY”

by Danielle Niecey
written by Danielle Niecey

Wednesday, November 2, 2022.  Minetta Lane, Manhattan, New York –  I attended Audible Theater’s newest play, “Good Enemy”, written by Audible Theater’s emerging Playwright, Yilong Liu and directed by Obie Award winner, Chay Yew. A father is conflicted once he discovers that closing the doors of his past has caused him to alienate himself from his daughter in the play Good Enemy.

Alec Silver  as  Dave and Francis Jue as Howard (Photo Credits: Joan Marcus, 2022)

Yilong Liu’s atmospheric new play, sets the opening scene with two bickering men en route a cross-country road trip. With the aid of his daughter’s aimless ex-boyfriend, Dave, performed by Alec Silver (Temping), Howard, played by lead actor, Francis Jue, acts impulsively and makes a cross country road trip from California to New York to surprise his daughter, Momo, played by Geena Quintos, (SoftPower, Emojiland).  After coming across scantily clad posts on Momo’s  Tik-Tok account, Howard immediately expresses his concern by showing up on her doorstep, unannounced.  To her frustration, and his disdain, Howard also discovers his college-aged daughter is a young woman of his own (and her late mother’s) heart; inserting herself into political social causes that could jeopardize her life.

Howard’s internal war forces him to confront the dynamics of their relationships as a result of his reluctance to share the memories of his life as a young man in Communist controlled China. As a father, he is faced with  the shame of his past and the possible accusation of treason and disloyalty to his own country. Howard wants to keep Momo safe and warns her of the dangers in taking part in political protests, even peaceful demonstrations, for the sake of her “being a voice” for a world that will not hesitate to silence hers.

Francis Jue as Howard and Geena Quintos as “Momo” (Photo Credits by: Joan Marcus, 2022)

This play was beautifully written and wonderfully depicted by each of the actors, each character haunted with their own battle of “Good” vs evil “Enemy” struggle. The minimalistic backdrop on stage allowed the attention to remain centered on the actors who were tasked to use the inflection of voice, synergy of their interactions, and vivid imagination to paint the scene for the viewing and listening audience. The storyline explored human connections in various ways; from the western influences regarding cohabitation when Howard discovers Momo has a “white- live in boyfriend”, performed by actor Ryan Spahn (Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow); whose comedic verve reminded us of  the  many great ways to use Google; to the discomfort Howard faced recapping how he met, courted and fell for Momo’s mother, Jiahua portrayed by Jeena Yi (Network, Somebody’s Daughter) who gave an engaging performance; and

Jeena Yi as Jiahua and Tim Liu as young Hao (Photo credits: Joan Marcus, 2022)

commanding officer Xiong, played by Ron Domingo (The American Pilot, “As The World Turns”) internal war centered on a man who was socially and politically forced to repress his sexual nature to survive and protect his family from being shamed, arrested or murdered.

Good Enemy intermingles the age old tale and trial of two generations, two continents, worlds apart in their values, yearning to find common ground for the greater good of all. Good Enemy illustrates a lesson in creating boundaries for our self evident truths and the distances we travel, figuratively and geographically to ensure our right of the freedom to shape our lives any way we want. The overarching message I gathered from this play is that neither government nor governing bodies (parents, legal guardians and those in authoritative roles) can deny us our innate need to find peace in our selves, even to the point of risking our lives.

Tim Liu as young Hao & Ron Domingo as commanding officer Xiong (photo credits: Joan Marcus, 2022)

Tim Liu (“Nepotism”) as Hao, the character whose storyline reveals the earlier days of Howard’s life leading up to his escape as a political refugee and rogue militant, does a splendid job in warming our hearts up to favoring the and understanding the stern nature he adopts in his latter years.

 Good Enemy features scenic design by Junghyun Georgia Lee, costume design by Mel Ng, lighting design by Reza Behjat, sound design by Mikhail Fiksel and fight/intimacy direction by Dave Anzuelo/Unkle Dave’s Fight-House. Casting by X Casting Victor Vazquez, CSA. Merrick AB Williams is the production stage manager. Technical supervision is by Hudson Theatrical Associates with general management by Baseline Theatrical‘s Andy Jones and Jonathan Whitton.

Good Enemy (runtime 1 hour & 45 minute)  is showing at 18 Minetta Lane (between Bleecker and West 3rd Street), New York, NY and will be playing from the dates of October 25th – November 27th at Minetta Lane Theater, the home of Audible Theatre!

 

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Review: “Topdog/Underdog” 20th Anniversary Production

by Briana Atkins
written by Briana Atkins

While the return to the stage post-pandemic has been occurring for some time now, my first experience in a theatre in years took place a few weeks ago. And what an outstanding return to the theatre it was…

 

The 20th-anniversary production of Susan Lori-Parks’ Pulitzer-winning play, “Topdog/Underdog” premiered at the John Golden Theater on October 20th. Lori-Parks is one of America’s foremost playwrights, also known for “Venus” and her directorial work on films Native Son and The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Her play, Topdog/Underdog follows the story of older Brother Lincoln and younger brother, Booth in “a darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity. [The brothers’] names [are] given to them as a joke by their father. Haunted by the past and their obsession with the street con game, three-card monte, the brothers come to learn the true nature of their history.”

Upon entering the theatre, the audience is guided to their seats by a playlist of hip-hop/rap songs. One that sticks in my head still is Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright”, the words to which I mouthed as I made my way to the lower-level bathrooms. The songs set the perfect stage (pun intended) for the magic that ensues for the following two hours or so.

The show begins with Booth, played by Emmy-winner Yahya Abdul Mateen II (Watchmen, Candyman, The Matrix: Resurrections) alone in the apartment pretending to hustle people at three-card monte. He’s shortly joined by Lincoln played by Tony-nominee Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton, In the Heights, 24: Legacy) dressed as, you guessed it, Abraham Lincoln. The brothers get into discussions about their lives, childhood, financial struggles, womanly woes, and sibling rivalry in moments that are equally hilarious, poignant, and sometimes devastating. Hawkins’ performance is absolutely electric. I found myself both completely entranced by him, believing him to be Lincoln and marveling at the fact that I was witnessing an actor completely in his element. He reaches depths and sadness within that character that pin the audience to their seat, breathless and emotional. One of my favorite moments of his performance in Act One includes a beautiful moment where Hawkins serenades the crowd with an offhand blues song. And man, can that guy sing. Where Hawkins brings the emotional gravity of Lori-Parks’ work, Mateen brings the more comedic moments. As the cocky and entitled, yet deeply wounded younger brother, Lincoln, Mateen uses his ineffable charm to make such a difficult character personable. His syrupy-smooth delivery of such sharp and biting dialogue lends a softness to Lincoln, who so often likes to portray himself as hard. His and Hawkins’ chemistry as adult brothers is felt from the moment they both take the stage, to the haunting final scene.

To avoid “spoilers”, I’ll refrain from telling you exactly how the show ends (although if a story is 20 years old, can telling you the end truly count as a spoiler?). With outstanding performances from both lead actors and dynamic direction from Tony-winning director Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun, American Son, The Wiz! Live) “Topdog/Underdog” shouldn’t be missed!

 

“Topdog/Underdog” is showing at the John Golden Theaterfrom now until January 15, 2023. Get your tickets before then!

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Spontaneous Duets, Furious Crowds, and Plenty of Opera: Festival Verdi 2022 Celebrates its Opening Weekend

by Benjamin Schmidt
written by Benjamin Schmidt

The idea of the opera pulling headlines might seem a bit anachronistic; a niche interest suddenly becoming the whole of the zeitgeist. But this is exactly what Festival Verdi has become over its 20 years in current existence.

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A Juicy Chat with Marcel Spears About Fat Ham

by Melissa Edelblum
written by Melissa Edelblum

 

To start this article with the soliloquy reference, or not to start this article with the soliloquy reference, that is the question.

And because I lack total self control, I just did. But I urge you to think about what comes to mind when you think of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. For starers, THEE aforementioned soliloquy. The ghost, the haunting familial betrayal. No matter how “different” the thousands of productions of Hamlet may seem, we have yet to see a production that truly is different – in feel, tone, structure, the list goes on…until James Ijames’ Fat Ham.

Fat Ham (which won the Pulitzer Prize in drama this year) completely reimagines a Hamlet, without putting the play or complex characters in a box. The writing is ever so poignant and approach to adaptation is modern, fresh, queer, and Black and almost Freudian in certain ways – as the show feels so familiar, but so eerily and distinctly different from the original text material from centuries ago.  One of the themes that becomes clear throughout the 95 minute show is that nothing is concrete and everything “kind of” still a work in progress – and that’s totally okay! 

Set at a summer barbecue in current day, this co-production between The Public Theatre and the National Black Theatre (Directed by Saheem Ali, of Merry Wives) goes here, there, and everywhere while exploring themes of queerness, bravery, and questioning societal expectations. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to chat with Marcel Spears, who plays “Juicy”, our Hamlet-esque character.  

TK: We have seen so many productions attempt a “new and fresh” approach to contemporary Shakespeare, but Fat Ham feels SO different for a multitude of reasons – off the top of my head, the Black and queer stories, the layered motifs and themes, but also as different as James Ijames Pulitzer Prize winning work may be, it feels true to Shakespeare’s original work and that’s remarkable. Can you tell us a bit about your approach for mastering that fine line?


MS: I have always had a unique relationship and approach to Shakespeare mostly because when I was first introduced to the work I felt so outside of it; As a young Black actor I always felt like Shakespeare was so inaccessible, I didn’t see very many actors that looked like me doing the work locally, it wasn’t until I started formal acting training that I was able to realize that Shakespeare is full of big messy emotions, and dirty jokes, it’s just as raw and ugly and wonderfully relatable as the world we live in today. It’s for everybody. I respect the structure of the language, but I dive into the work like I do anything else; with and abundance of curiosity and empathy.


TK: Juicy is such a complex, yet relatable character. I was rooting for Juicy throughout the play, even when the unthinkable happens – my heart sank, but I still was on Juicy’s journey and that could not have happened without your remarkable ability to breathe life into the character, flaws and all. Do you feel that you are similar and/or different to Juicy in certain ways – if so, how?

MS: I always put a little of myself into the characters I play, I try to find some common threads to ground the performance. Juicy loves his mom, he’s a southern boy etc. The work of an actor early in the process is to find your characters “why” and I think that was the trickiest part for me. Juicy in someways is absolutely fearless, but in the play he kept making choices that were so different from what Marcel would do. Finding JUICY’S “why” was a lot of fun for me.

TK: And a follow up to that, what is one major takeaway that you have learned about yourself from playing Juicy? Juicy has softened me up a little.

MS: I grew up in New Orleans, it’s a beautiful city, but it’s a tough city. I was always encouraged as a young man to be strong. Because I’m Black, because I’m poor, because I am me; I was to expect the world will treat me coldly and to meet that reality with unwavering force. As much as I have matured I still held on to pieces of that upbringing. Juicy helped to shatter most of that and caused me to reflect and redefine, what can be considered strength.
TK: What was your first reaction to reading the play for the first time? Specifically the scene between Juicy & Larry. (I don’t want to spoil so I’m not getting into great detail)

MS: When I first read this play I just knew I wanted to be apart of it. I hadn’t seen anything like it, I knew it was special. Specifically that scene between Juicy and Larry which is the scene I auditioned with is one of my favorite scenes I’ve ever seen or read in all of tv/film/ and theater. I think that’s all I can say without giving it away but it’s beautiful.

TK: You all look like you’re having a BLAST on that stage, but you really trust each other to go there with these characters – can you tell me a bit about your dynamic with your castmates? Also, how do you not crack up during the karaoke scenes or Tio’s gingerbread man monologue at the end?

MS: This cast has gotten very close very quickly, in theater actors learn to make fast friends, to build chemistry as a company for the purpose of telling a story, but I think early on our director Saheem Ali was so adamant about creating a space for deep and vulnerable work it also created a very tight bond. We genuinely enjoy each others company, and we have fun together, you can see that on stage. And the truth is Chris’ as Tio isn’t the scene that is most likely to crack everyone up, that charge goes to Benja playing Rabby, she breaks everyone, I think she enjoys it.

TK: What is the main thing you would like audiences to take away from Fat Ham?

MS: I think the thing I want audiences to walk away from this play with is a sense that Joy is contagious, even in the most difficult circumstances joy is a a radical act of love and kindness. Joy is revolutionary, it is a gift, and it can change your life and the lives of people around you, like it literally changes the world of this play.

We loved sitting down with Marcel as much as we loved watching Marcel light up the stage. With brilliant performances from Nikki Crawford, Chris Herbie Holland, Billy Eugene Jones, Calvin Leon Smith, Adriana Michell, and Benja Kay Thomas – run, don’t walk to catch this hysterical and relatable show. 

P.S. – trust me, you will not be disappointed with the musical performances, but let those be a surprise. 

Fat Ham is playing at The Public Theatre through July 31, 2022. Learn more about the full cast, creative team, and tickets by visiting https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2122/fat-ham/

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