Choir Boy Ensemble at Marin Theatre Company
CHOIR BOY: Drama by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Marin Theatre Company (MTC), 397 Mill Avenue, Mill Valley, CA, 415-388-5208 or www.marintheatre.org. Extended to July 5.2015
CHOIR BOY explodes on the MTC stage. [Rating:4]
Tarell Alvin McCraney made an impressive debut in the Bay Area theatrical scene in 2010 when his trilogy The Brother and Sister Plays received spectacular productions at three different theatres. It began at the Marin Theatre Company (MTC) with their stunning production of In the Red and Brown Water before the baton for Part Two, The Brothers Size, was passed on to the Magic Theatre and part Three, Marcus: The Secret of Sweet, was handed over to A.C.T. Berkeley Rep received the early 2015 honors in the Bay Area to produce Head of Passes.
McCraney is back at the Marin Theatre with his latest opus Choir Boy. He has left the bayous of the Mississippi Delta and selected the Drew Preparatory Boarding School for black, mostly scholarship boys as his venue. It saw light of day at the prestigious Royal Court Theatre in London is 2012 before arriving at the Manhattan Theatre club in New York in 2013. Since that time it has had multiple productions in the U.S. receiving mostly rave reviews.
For this Bay Area production, Marin Theatre has brought along members from the Washington, D.C Studio Theatre production. These include director Kent Gash, music director Darius Smith, set designer Jason Sherwood and cast members Jelani Alladin and Jaysen Wright.
Religion plays an important part of McCraney’s plays and so it is with this multi-scene two hour Choir Boy. The basic storyline revolves around two students vying for leadership of the schools highly regarded choir. The honor to lead the choir is in question with rivalry between gay Pharus Young (Jelani Alladin) and hot-head Bobby Marrow (Dimitri Woods) nephew to the Head Master Marrow (Ken Robinson). Between individual scenes there are a cappella gospel songs, beautifully sung either as solos or as a group by the members of the choir.
In this milieu McCraney explores love, hate, ambition, school-honor code and parent/children relationships. Although the cast, with one exception is African-American, the truisms and conflicts seem universal with a few specific to race.
Beginning with the conflict between the homosexual Pharus and macho Bobby the other characters are given verisimilitude by their individual dialog and interpersonal reactions. Junior Davis (Rotimi Agbabiaka) is Bobby’s close buddy and AJ (Jaysen Wright) a heterosexual athlete is a true friend and roommate to Pharus. Rounding out the student class is introverted David (Forest Van Dyke) who is trying to find his way and true identity. McCraney uses the device of one-sided telephone conversations between the students and unseen parents in a partially successful attempt to explore parental pressure on the youngsters.
The Headmaster is also under pressure to raise funds for the school and even after 30 years in the job does not understand that sex and love are rampant in an all-male prep-school environment. That theme leads to explosive sexual demeanor and at the same time includes non-sexual male bonding. Flamboyant Pharus has accepted his proclivities and is proud ability to lead the school’s choir.
All the cast give dynamic individualistic performances that fit like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. This is enhanced by Ken Gash’s powerful staging, enhanced by Kurt Landisman’s atmospheric lighting and Darius Smith’s brilliant musical direction of the a cappella gospel music.
Recommendation: A strong ‘should see’. Running time 120 minutes without intermission.
CAST: Rotimi Agbabiaka, Jetani Alladin, Charles Robinson, Ken Robinson, Forest Van Dyke, Dimitri Woods and Jaysen Wright.
ARTISTIC CREW: Directed by Kent Gash; Scenic Designer Jason Sherwood; Lighting Designer Kurt Landisman; Costume Designer Callie Floor; Music Director Darius Smith; Sound Designer/Assistant Music Director Chris Houston; Stage Manager Sean McStravick; Properties Artisan Kirsten Royston.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.
