Category: Theater Feature

Categories
Theater Theater Feature

A World Turned Upside Down

A.D. Weaver as George Washington in Hamilton (Photo: Joan Marcus)

A crash course in historical irony was on hand last night, as my son and I trundled into the Orpheum to see Hamilton: An American Musical. While the cast of the celebrated musical sang and rapped their way through the circumstances and ideals upon which this country was founded, a shadowy Trump administration and its unelected advisor, Elon Musk, had just frozen funds for the National Endowment for Democracy in direct violation of the 1974 Impoundment Control Act (which mandates that funds appropriated by Congress be distributed to their proper recipients). Meanwhile, the United States apparently abandoned all commitments to erstwhile ally Ukraine. Authoritarian states like China and Russia were delighted by both moves. And, with characteristic hubris, Trump tweeted “LONG LIVE THE KING,” referring to himself. Welcome to another day in Upside-Down World, where a supine Republican Congress continues to give the executive branch free rein.

Meanwhile, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) diverted all funding originally targeting underserved communities only two weeks ago. Instead, those monies shall now go to projects honoring the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. That, perhaps, is the most chilling irony: the NEA celebrating a revered historical document as a kind of fetish while caving in to principles that defy its very intent.

It was not always thus. As Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda told CBS News in 2017, without the NEA he might never have had a career at all.

“My first musical was workshopped at the O’Neill Musical Theatre Center, which is partly funded by the NEA,” he said. “But that’s not even the real story. The real story is the NEA funds things in all 50 states. They are the supplement when arts programs get cut. They fund reading programs between parents and young children in Kentucky. They fund, you know, educational initiatives all over the state, all over the United States. So, when we talk about the NEA, we’re talking about a very small amount of money that does get an enormous return on its investment in terms of what it gets out of our citizens.”

How could one not imagine President Trump’s royal ambitions whenever Hamilton‘s farcical character of King George III (Justin Matthew Sargent) appeared, full of imperious condescension, the perfect foil for the musical’s American patriots? It was enough to give this audience member chills, a bracing reminder of this country’s origins.

The Orpheum has always championed Miranda’s 2015 musical, having been the first theater to bring Hamilton to Tennessee in 2019, then again in 2021. And while those touring productions were stellar, the new touring production, at the Orpheum until March 2nd, hits differently. Suddenly, it seems more necessary than ever.

From the beginning, Hamilton was a shot across the bow for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Its central conceit was to recast the country’s white, propertied “Founding Fathers” as multi-ethnic players fired with the grit and grind of hip hop culture and the soaring emotions of an R&B ballad. And, as Miranda told the New York Times after its opening, “Our cast looks like America looks now, and that’s certainly intentional. It’s a way of pulling you into the story and allowing you to leave whatever cultural baggage you have about the founding fathers at the door.”

Indeed, the musical’s staunchly pro-immigrant ethos is a heartening reminder that Trump is not our king. This was abundantly clear last night, when, during the “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)” scene, after the Marquis de Lafayette (Jared Howelton) says the word “immigrants,” and Hamilton (Michael Natt) joins him in saying, “We get the job done,” there were enthusiastic cheers and whoops in the audience. Clearly, I was not the only one who’s spirits were bolstered.

Natt, as a person of color, perfectly embodied the idealism and the drive of his character, delivering the rhymes and raps — sometimes derived from actual historical texts — with understated aplomb, as did his more aggressive foil, Jimmie “JJ” Jeter as Aaron Burr. Lauren Mariasoosay, of South Asian ancestry, masterfully inhabited the unique mix of Colonial-era decorum and emotionalism of Eliza Hamilton, especially in the anguish she conveys at the show’s final moment, just before the house goes dark. And perhaps none captured the play’s inclusive spirit more than the regal A.D. Weaver as George Washington, who expressed all the gravitas that the role demands.

Washington’s repudiation of demands that he become the young nation’s new king, insisting instead on mounting an election for his successor, was a compelling beacon of hope in these dark times, when an American president dares call himself king and jokes about never needing elections again. In matter-of-factly expressing, with new urgency, what once seemed to be this nation’s imperfectly executed yet fundamental principles — a respect for diversity, the peaceful transfer of power, and the rule of law — Hamilton preserves the ideals that we’ve thus far taken for granted and offers the possibility that they haven’t been forgotten.

Back in 2016, newly elected Vice President Mike Pence attended a performance of Hamilton that caused quite a stir when Brandon Dixon, the actor playing Burr, stepped out to share some thoughts with the audience and Pence after the curtain call. If those words rang true then, they are even more critical today, as all of the first Trump administration’s excesses are amplified beyond belief. See Hamilton if you can, take your sons and daughters, and when you do, remember Dixon’s reminder to Pence:

We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents — or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us. All of us.

Categories
Art Art Feature Theater Theater Feature

Young Actors Guild Performs ‘Sunday Morning: Dance to Freedom’

Young thespians conjure up that Sunday morning feeling. (Photo: Juan Self)

Sunday mornings have always held special meaning in the fabric of Black culture. They’re filled with the hustle and bustle of getting ready — women waiting for curling irons to heat to the perfect temperature while men both young and old perfect the knots of their ties.

Congregations then begin to file into church pews as ushers greet them with white gloves. Church mothers fill the front rows dressed as elegantly as the grace they exude. The angelic choir voices sing songs of hope, faith, and praise before a sermon the pastor has mused to echo those sentiments.

“We all know Sunday morning,” Sabrina Norwood, executive director of the Young Actors Guild (YAG), says. “When you think about Sunday morning, that’s you getting up and getting dressed and coming to be rejuvenated. There’s a lot of hand clapping, a lot of foot stomping, and beautiful music that will not only connect you but will reinvigorate you.”

While images of these mornings may be different through the years, themes of hope mixed with the spirit of congregation remain. It’s an important scene to capture, one that YAG is working to encapsulate in their performance, aptly titled Sunday Morning: Dance to Freedom, on February 23rd at the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, located at 620 Parkrose Road in Memphis, TN.

The performance is timely — the organization celebrates Black History Month and its own 34th anniversary this February — but it also reflects the empowerment needed during this political climate. 

“I think we’re all operating in uncertainty,” Norwood says. “One thing that stays true is the arts, and love for the arts, and everybody can relate to it. We hope it’s both healing and reflective to others.”

Community has been a mainstay for the organization since its inception. Founder and creative director Chrysti Chandler recalls coming back to Memphis in 1991 after seeing there were many children who didn’t participate in after-school activities. She was shocked to find out it was because students couldn’t afford it.

“Many of the young people we serve are from underrepresented populations,” Norwood says. “Those students are able to attend our program for little to no cost because we believe arts should be accessible for all.”

Norwood says through Chandler’s vision, more than 41,000 young people have come through their doors. YAG houses a performing arts academy that operates year-round with students ages 8 to 17. And Norwood says being in the Orange Mound community allows young people a platform they haven’t typically had. They are able to showcase their talent and creativity while also giving a voice to their generation.

Norwood says this age group is known for an outspoken and unconventional approach to social justice, and these themes are interwoven through Sunday Morning intentionally.

“This performance is all about a dance to freedom,” Norwood says. “About them finding ways to create their own avenues to bring justice, equality, accessibility to their community, and to create sustainability. This production will provide an opportunity to not only unify our young people but unify our community.” 

As she reflects on YAG’s students, she says they’re a generation who will move mountains, and art gives them the opportunity to advocate on their behalf while celebrating how far their heritage has come. To amplify this, the production will include a performance from Orange Mound-founded band Black Cream. Gospel artist Deborah Manning Thomas — whom Norwood calls a “vocal powerhouse” — will also join. Rooted Souls, a group that developed from parents of YAG, will perform. And Sharonda Mcfield will come in from North Carolina to join the production, along with Kevin Davidson.

“Gospel music certainly is healing,” Norwood says. “We all know that. Just walking through that Sunday morning of getting there and sometimes feeling so burdened down, but leaving feeling like you can take over the world. That’s the experience we want to be able to create, and hopefully it’ll revive us with the climate we’re in. We really want this to be an amazing presentation of revival.” 

Categories
Theater Theater Feature We Recommend We Recommend

Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin Has Its World Premiere at Playhouse

(Photo: itsjusthalo)

Surely, you’ve heard of Joseph Stalin, the controversial leader of the Soviet Union, but have you ever heard of Alexei Dikiy or Felix Dadaev? These are the two characters, based on real people, in Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin, a play following the lives of the two actors who are preparing for the riskiest roles of their careers: Stalin’s body doubles. 

“Dianne Nora, who’s the playwright, has taken very interesting historical facts, which is the fact of Joseph Stalin’s body doubles during World War II, and created this entire world of what could have been — the training that one of those body doubles ended up experiencing,” says Savannah Miller, director of Playhouse on the Square’s NewWorks@TheWorks Playwriting Competition that Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin won. The NewWorks competition allows six plays to be entered and examined by judges, but only two can be selected as the winners. (The other winner of this season was Coco Queens, which was performed last summer.)

Of Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin, Miller says, “It speaks to our current moment, with a new and old president coming into office. It speaks to critically evaluating our world leaders and what they are asking you to do. In this case, in Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin, they’re asking you to put your life on the line and you need to know exactly what you’re standing up for.” 

The play, directed by Tony Isbell, encourages audiences to be more aware of what occurred in the past and how it affected people — not to mention how the past can easily become the present. “I hope that it makes them question a little bit more the world around them. And I hope ultimately that it just starts a dialogue. I think it’s a very, very timely piece,” says Miller. 

The production is 90 minutes with no intermission, and it will run from this week until the week of the 26th. For more information about this newest production and Playhouse’s upcoming season as well as where to purchase tickets, visit playhouseonthesquare.org/season-2024—2025.  

Six Men Dressed Like Stalin, TheatreWorks@TheSQuare, 2085 Monroe, through January 26th, Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., $25/general admissions, $20/senior citizens, military, and first responders, $15/children under 18. 

Categories
Theater Theater Feature

Circuit Playhouse’s Junie B. Jones: Toothless Wonder

Brooke Papritz leads the cast as Junie B. Jones. (Photo: Megan Christoferson)

It’s easy to forget, as adults, just how much of our time as children is spent worrying about our teeth coming out. I haven’t given it a thought in probably 20 years, but my son is now at the age when this is a Very Legitimate Concern. He asks me questions like, “When you were a kid, did you pull your teeth out or just let them fall out?” And I inevitably scramble to remember, how did I feel about the whole thing? It does cross my mind that this isn’t something we completely leave behind as we pass through adolescence. A quick Google search tells me that dreaming of your teeth falling out is fairly common, affecting around 39 percent of people, although I’ve never had it myself. I will confess that if my son hadn’t recently begun to lose his teeth, it probably wouldn’t have occurred to me to attend The Circuit Playhouse’s production of Junie B. Jones: Toothless Wonder. Thankfully, however, the stars aligned, because it would have been to my detriment to miss it. My 7-year-old son accompanied me, and it’s a performance we both loved. 

Junie B. Jones — she wouldn’t have us leave out the “B,” reminiscent of Anne “with an ‘e’” — is a character most people would describe as “precocious.” To me, she was fabulous — a refreshingly powerful female character and inspiration to all. A line in the show stood out: Junie B. looks at her reflection after she finally does — spoiler alert — lose her tooth. In that moment, she regains her briefly lost confidence, but she doesn’t make a reference at all to beauty. What she says is, “I think I look fascinating.” To that I say HELL YES, Junie B.! Would that we all could celebrate ourselves with such honesty. Brooke Papritz nailed that moment and, for that matter, this role. Watching an adult play a child can be an extremely unpleasant experience, especially if it’s obvious that the performer has lost connection with their own childlike wonder. Papritz, along with all the cast members playing children onstage, gave Junie B. and her classmates all the spunk and pizzazz an audience could hope for. 

Junie B. Jones: Toothless Wonder reminds us that when children are facing problems every molehill can look and feel like a mountain. This is certainly true for Junie B., a schemer who has a wiggly front tooth, with all the subsequent Tooth-Fairy-related worries that come with it, on top of being the only one who isn’t invited to her classmate’s birthday party. Junie B. is an over-the-top dramatic kind of girl, which is perfect for the theater and also for reminding us that even the loudest, most hyperbolic behavior can sometimes represent very real, raw feelings. This is a theme that seems to be getting more and more traction in today’s entertainment for kids, which I love to see. Junie B.’s “what if” soliloquies remind me of Pixar’s Inside Out 2’s character Anxiety, who was popular with adult audiences. 

Regardless of the emotional poignancy present in this play, it remains resolutely a comedy. Walking back to our car after the show, my son went through a list of his favorite moments. “And my fourth favorite part was …” It’s a good sign for any performance to garner one or two stand-out moments, let alone four. I laughed out loud several times in the show and appreciated how often timing was a punch line all on its own. 

This play may be a simple, hour-long production with a target audience of young children, but it nevertheless has every component necessary for great theater. Humor, drama, and superb storytelling (the callback to recycling is top-notch writing) make this a show worth anyone’s time. If my son’s reaction was anything to go by, your kids will love it. They may consistently call it a “movie” afterward when trying to puzzle out if the actor playing Junie B. actually lost her tooth, but they’ll still love it. 

Junie B. Jones: Toothless Wonder runs at The Circuit Playhouse through December 22nd. 

Categories
Theater Theater Feature

The Mousetrap at Theatre Memphis

Photo: Carla McDonald

Longtime Memphis thespian Bruce Huffman saw his directorial debut last weekend with the opening of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at Theatre Memphis. Anyone familiar with Christie’s work will understand why this play is a fitting choice for October. Macabre and suspenseful, The Mousetrap is a multi-faceted character study with an array of roles any actor would die for — which is apt, as this play is also, of course, a good old-fashioned whodunit murder mystery. 

The Mousetrap opens as so many of Christie’s great works do, with establishing a setting where a group of eccentric strangers are inevitably thrown together with no escape in sight. In this case, the story takes place in the out-of-the-way Monkswell Manor, just opened by newlyweds Mollie and Giles Ralston, played by Taylor Ragan and Kinon Keplinger, respectively. The manor’s grand opening is thrown off by several unexpected arrivals, first of a snowstorm, and then of a man who embodies the very definition of “eccentric,” one Mr. Paravacini, played by Tony Isbell. The other guests come in one by one, and as the audience is introduced to the colorful cast, it quickly becomes evident that every one of them has something to hide. 

It is revealed that a murder has taken place, that of one unfortunate Maureen Lyon, and as the play goes on, we realize the mysterious Ms. Lyon was connected to several of Monkswell Manor’s guests. Almost immediately it becomes clear that the audience shouldn’t just be trying to puzzle out who the murderer is — we’re also meant to figure out who the next victims are. Theatrical history buffs may know that Christie was always rather annoyed with theater critics who revealed the endings of her plays; therefore, in honor of her memory I will attempt to not give too much away. This play is one that, in typical Christie fashion, turns the mystery inside out and on its head before the curtain falls. 

Whether it’s too easy to figure out or not isn’t really the point; the fun of this show is in watching the cast flesh out the campy, over-the-top characters. After all, if a dramatic period-piece murder mystery isn’t the place for outrageously hyperbolic caricatures, then what is? Franklin Koch’s performance as the outlandish, free-spirited Christopher Wren feels as comfortably threadbare as a favorite T-shirt. Koch obviously knows this character through and through, and you’ll feel like you do, too. Meanwhile, Susan Brindley’s depiction of Mrs. Boyle is just as familiar, but as a character we all love to hate. Anyone in the audience who’s worked in any kind of service industry will enjoy watching multiple characters clap back at this 1950s version of a “Karen.” The entire company seems to be working together with the precision of a well-oiled machine. 

Snow is mentioned often enough to almost be considered another character altogether, and as is common in many suspense stories, it acts not only as a tangible way of keeping the players isolated, but also as a metaphor — they’re hemmed in, physically and mentally. The cold also implies a certain stasis. Many of these characters are frozen in mindset, kept in place by horrors of the past or by their inability, deliberate or not, to grow up. My one issue with this play is the somewhat dated use of mental illness as a scapegoat. The societal embrace of both true crime and mental health in recent years has, I think, made modern audiences more aware of the fact that millions of people suffer complex trauma or have mental health issues and don’t commit any crimes as a result, let alone murder. I’m aware I might be unfairly evaluating this 20th century work through a 21st century lens, but it would feel disingenuous not to at least point out such antiquated thinking.

Despite that, the play is undeniably entertaining. The Mousetrap has been staged almost uninterruptedly since the ’50s for a reason — it’s a classic. Whether you’re the type who enjoys trying to tease out twist endings as you watch or whether you’d rather be kept guessing, this murder mystery is filled with such quality performances as to keep anyone entertained. 

The Mousetrap runs at Theatre Memphis through October 27th. 

Categories
Theater Theater Feature

Coconut Cake at Hattiloo Theater

These retirees meet to spill the tea. (Photo: Marlinda Shorter | Unspeakable Joy Photography)

Ten years ago, my ex-husband and I lived with his grandfather, a 92-year-old patriarch of the family. He was routine-oriented, and for many years he made a habit of meeting up with friends once a week for coffee and breakfast at a local fast food joint, usually Hardee’s or McDonald’s. The setting of Hattiloo Theatre’s production of Coconut Cake couldn’t be more relatable, as it portrays a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of four retirees who meet every Monday at McDonald’s. Here’s the thing, though, these characters aren’t just meeting up to drink coffee — they’re here to spill the tea. 

Coconut Cake is a (mostly) quiet, intimate look at the lives of three Black friends, plus the somewhat out-of-place white brother-in-law named Hank but nick-named “Republican,” played by Bart Mallard. The characters — all men — slowly reveal they are each going through hardships that end up driving them apart, despite the fact that their individual struggles could bring them closer. The event that throws their lives into disarray is the arrival in town of a mysterious woman, who, because of her beauty and sophistication, becomes the subject of fascination for the quartet. The other wild card in Coconut Cake is the unhoused man dubbed “Gotdamnit” because of his penchant for repeating the word. Played by Jesse L. Dunlap, Gotdamnit is the type of character who whirls in and steals the show. He is a source of comic relief, though there are moments of emotion and a struggle with mental health that are poignantly delivered. 

While the characters may at first seem like stock characters, a theme becomes apparent as the show progresses: All people contain hidden depths. Mallard has been acting since high school and speaks to the process of the characterization of Hank: “My character is hiding some truths about himself from even those closest to him. So I am asking myself deeply and honestly, what do I keep hidden away … is there a truth that I have not allowed to be seen … is there a truth in my heart, soul, and gut that I need to or could benefit from shining a bright light onto?” 

One notable aspect of the play is that, though it is comprised of an entirely male cast, the playwright Melda Beaty is a woman. Watching a play that is about the male experience, but depicted by a woman, was a fascinating experience. I’ve grown up inundated by female characters who are poorly and unrealistically dreamed up by men. The internet is full with memes criticizing how women are rendered by male writers, so I found it refreshing to see a play that flipped the script — pun intended. Beaty’s frank and honest portrayal of these men is what makes the play so gripping. Here is a place where they are allowed to be vulnerable, and it’s obvious how meaningful that refuge is. Symbolism is rife in Coconut Cake, from the sanctuary represented by the innocuous setting of McDonald’s, to the game of life portrayed in a chess board. 

Though on the surface Coconut Cake is a simple dialogue-driven play, it is a piece of theater that should not be looked over. Accurately cutting out a slice of life that remains deeply entertaining without ever compromising its realism is no mean feat, but Beaty has managed to do so with success. This play comes with a message that audiences will be hard-pressed to miss, as Mallard puts it, “The deepest intention is to shine some light on the truth that the act of openly, truthfully, and patiently walking your path will allow for you to find your own truth and light and then to honestly stand in it … to take the stage.” 

Coconut Cake runs at Hattiloo Theatre through September 8th. 

Categories
Theater Theater Feature

Ostranders Salute Best in Theater

Ostrander night entertainment included an energetic scene by the cast from Hattiloo Theatre's "Blues in the Night." Photo: Jon W. Sparks

A theatrical production may end its run, but it’s never really over until the awards are announced. That happened Monday night at the Orpheum as the 40th annual Memphis Ostrander Awards were held to celebrate the best in local theater.

No production ran off with all the recognition, but ones that did well included Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Theatre Memphis) with six trophies, and Your Arms Too Short to Box With God (Playhouse on the Square) and Silent Sky (Next Stage, Theatre Memphis) which both won five awards.

For Emily F. Chateau, it was especially sweet, as she walked away with two plaques, one for Supporting Actress in a Division I Musical — Cinderella at Theatre Memphis, and the other for Supporting Actress in a Division I Play — Silent Sky on the Next Stage at Theatre Memphis. Observing that the evening was stacked with top performers, she noted that “being on stage with such talent is a gift.”

Awards are given in a wide range of categories including acting, directing, and backstage contributions in the college, community and professional divisions. The awards ceremony included live performances of musical numbers from eight nominees for Outstanding Overall Production. 

There was a special presentation for the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, Michael Detroit, Executive Producer of Playhouse on the Square. 

Originally referred to as the Memphis Theatre Awards, the name was changed in 2001 to the Ostranders in honor of beloved local actor Jim Ostrander. 

2024 The Ostranders crowd in the lobby of the Orpheum Monday, August 26th.

The winners:

Props Design, Div II: Molly O’Connor, Amelie, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Props Design, Div I Play: Jack Netzel-Yates, Steel Magnolias, Theatre Memphis

Props Design, Div I Musical: Jack Netzel-Yates, Cinderella, Theatre Memphis

Scenic Design, Div II: Clare Kelly, Into the Woods, University of Memphis, and The Wasp, Quark Theatre

Scenic Design, Div I Play: J. David Galloway, The Lehman Trilogy, Circuit Playhouse

Scenic Design, Div I Musical: Jack Netzel-Yates, Cinderella, Theatre Memphis

Lighting Design, Div II: Melissa Andrews, Amelie, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Lighting Design, Div I Play: Nicole Northington, Silent Sky, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis

Lighting Design, Div I Musical: Terry Eikleberry, Your Arms Too Short to Box With God, Playhouse on the Square

Sound Design, Div II: Ty Phillips, Out in the Woods: FOG Fairy Tales, Friends of George’s

Sound Design, Div I Play: Joe Johnson, A Monster Calls, New Moon Theatre

Sound Design, Div I Musical: Reyn Lehman, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Theatre Memphis

Hair/Wig/Makeup Design, Div II: Eula Ashbee, 9 to 5, Harrell Theatre, and Friends of George’s, Out in the Woods: FOG Fairy Tales, Friends of George’s

Hair, Wig, & Makeup Design, Div I Play: Barbara Sanders, Blithe Spirit, Theatre Memphis

Hair, Wig, & Makeup Design, Div I Musical: Buddy Hart, Cinderella, Theatre Memphis

Costume Design, Div II: Eula Ashbee, 9 to 5, Harrell Theatre

Costume Design, Div I Play: Amie Eoff, Silent Sky, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis

Costume Design, Div I Musical: Amie Eoff, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Theatre Memphis, and Amie Eoff, Cinderella, Theatre Memphis

Music Direction, Div II: Nathan Thomas, Into the Woods, University of Memphis

Music Direction, Div I Play: Gary Beard, Master Class, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis

Music Direction, Div I Musical: Tammy Holt, Your Arms Too Short to Box With God, Playhouse on the Square

Choreography, Div II: Austin Wall, Into the Woods, University of Memphis

Choreography, Div I Play: Whitney Branan and Courtney Oliver, A Monster Calls, New Moon Theatre

Choreography, Div I Musical: Emma Crystal & Noelia Warnette-Jones, Your Arms Too Short to Box With God, Playhouse on the Square and Travis Bradley and Jordan Nichols, Cinderella, Theatre Memphis

Featured Performer, Div II  Play: Cary Vaughn, The Western Park Album, Emerald Theatre Company

Featured Performer, Div I Play: Fatima L. Gray, A Raisin in the Sun, Theatre Memphis

Featured Performer, Div II Musical: Jasmine Gillenwaters, Erin McKee, & Madilyn Mobbs, Into the Woods, University of Memphis

Featured Performer, Div I Musical: Justin Asher and Stephen Garrett, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Theatre Memphis

Featured Dancer, Div I Musical: Karl Robinson, Your Arms Too Short to Box With God, Playhouse on the Square

Supporting Actor, Div II Play: Micah Winter-Cole aka “Goldie Dee Collins,” Out in the Woods: FOG Fairy Tales, Friends of George’s

Supporting Actress, Div II Play: Taylor Edwards, Silent Sky, University of Memphis

Supporting Actor, Div I Play: Eric Schultz, Silent Sky, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actress, Div I Play: Emily F. Chateau, Silent Sky, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actor, Div II Musical: Aidan Saunders, Twelfth Night: The Musical, Harrell Theatre

Supporting Actress, Div II Musical: Cassie Thompson, Zanna, Don’t, Emerald Theatre Company

Supporting Actor, Div I Musical: Jonathan Christian, The Prom, Playhouse on the Square

Supporting Actress, Div I Musical: Emily F. Chateau, Cinderella, Theatre Memphis

Leading Actor, Div II Play: Taylor Roberts, The Sound Inside, Quark Theatre

Leading Actress, Div II Play: Mary Hollis Inboden, The Wasp, Quark Theatre, and Meghan L. Lewis, The Wasp, Quark Theatre

Leading Actor, Div I Play: John Maness, Kevar Maffitt, & Michael Gravois, The Lehman Trilogy, Circuit Playhouse

Leading Actress, Div I Play: Flo Roach, A Raisin in the Sun, Hattiloo Theatre

Leading Actor, Div II Musical: Steele Bowers, Murder Ballad, University of Memphis

Leading Actress, Div II Musical: Campbell Williams, 9 to 5, Harrell Theatre

Leading Actor, Div I Musical: Bentley Black, Catch Me If You Can, Playhouse on the Square

Leading Actress, Div I Musical: Cameron Crawford, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Theatre Memphis

Ensemble, Div II Play: Out in the Woods: FOG Fairy Tales, Friends of George’s

Ensemble, Div I Play: A Monster Calls, New Moon Theatre

Ensemble, Div II Musical: Amelie, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Ensemble, Div I Musical: Your Arms Too Short to Box With God, Playhouse on the Square

Original Script: Western Park Album, Howell Pearre, Emerald Theatre Company

Direction, Div II: Aliza Moran, Amelie, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Direction, Div I Play: Warner Crocker, The Lehman Trilogy, Circuit Playhouse

Direction, Div I Musical: Cecelia Wingate, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Theatre Memphis

Production, Div II: The Wasp, Quark Theatre, Director: Tony Isbell; Stage Manager: Leslie Lee

Production, Div I Play: The Lehman Trilogy, Circuit Playhouse; Director: Warner Crocker; Stage Manager: Emma White

Production, Div I Musical: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Theatre Memphis; Director: Cecelia Wingate; Stage Manager: Chelsea Robinson

The Otis Smith Dance Award: Courtney Oliver

Larry Riley Rising Star Award: Mac White

Janie McCrary Putting it Together Award: Terry Dean

Behind the Scenes Award: P.A. Bomani

For the 2023-2024 season, 14 organizations participated in the Ostrander Awards, submitting 63 productions for adjudication. The participating theaters are:

Actors Renaissance Theatre

Emerald Theatre Company

Friends of George’s

Germantown Community Theatre

Harrell Theatre

Hattiloo Theatre

New Moon

Playhouse on the Square

Quark Theatre

Rhodes Theatre Guild

Theatre Memphis

Three Diamonds Productions

True Believers Productions

University of Memphis

Categories
Theater Theater Feature

Coco Queens

Christin Webb as Gloria Carmichael (Photo: Joe Perry)

I feel somewhat apprehensive writing about the world premiere of LaDarrion Williams’ new play Coco Queens at TheatreWorks@TheSquare, if only because this review seems like the last thing anyone needs right now: a white woman’s commentary about Black sisterhood. Perhaps I would be best served by simply sharing my perspective of gratitude for having the opportunity to see this story being brought to the stage.

Winner of the 2023 NewWorks@TheWorks playwriting competition, Coco Queens takes place in the 1970s, which is apparent by the cozy, lived-in set designed by Lex van Blommestein. The entirety of the play is staged in the living room/at-home hair salon of Gloria Carmichael, played by Christin Webb, who the audience was told before curtain is a recent addition to the cast, so much so that the actor isn’t quite off book yet. This detail could be a distraction to most audiences, but I found Webb’s characterization of Gloria so compelling that it took me a few minutes to realize she was the actor that had been referred to, despite the rather obvious fact that she carried a modern binder with her during much of the show. 

Gloria sports an Afro hairstyle, another nod to the time frame of the show, and the play’s program includes an insert titled “The Role of Hair in the Identity of Black Women.” It’s a nice touch, given that many of the thematic elements are woven into the setting of a hair salon. Gloria serves as a matriarch to the other three characters, having raised each of them together as pseudo-sisters in their childhood. Chanel and Tammie remain in the same small town they grew up in, and once the last character Dawn is introduced, we see that she and Chanel harbor a feud that has spanned eight years. In their youth the three were part of a musical group together and were poised on the edge of their big break when Dawn suddenly broke off and started a solo career. Dawn, who recently returned home from her seemingly glamorous life as a solo artist, wants to reconcile. Chanel, who feels Dawn is living the life she was meant to have, does not. Tammie is stuck in the middle, unable to bridge the gap between the two.

Over the course of the play, we see each character struggling not only to mend the rift in their friendship but also against the different ways the world has forced them to move through their lives. The playwright exemplifies this theme with the line that being a Black woman is akin to “existing, not even living in this world.” Gloria and Tammie urge Chanel and Dawn to assert control in their lives by putting their differences behind them, but actor Donita Johnson makes it clear that Chanel’s palpable anger is stemming from a deep wound. 

Playwright Williams said in a release, “I am not a Black woman, but I guess I really associate with Chanel a lot of times because of the anger and hurt caused by some folks closest to you, and learning to heal from that pain.” 

Forgiveness is something hard-won, even or perhaps especially for the person giving it. Each character faces a battle with discrimination and how its effects on Black women permeate their lives, and each character in their own way comes to a point when they must decide who in their lives deserves forgiveness. In each of their coinciding stories, what’s clear is how much stronger the ties that bind them become when they choose to fight for and invest in their own strength. By choosing to embrace and support one another, they become stronger individuals. This lesson is brought home when their matriarch reminds them that she, too, has faced persecution in ways they never have, and that the time comes for everyone to invest in taking care of themselves first, even if their aim is to serve others. 

Coco Queens is a heartfelt look at the everyday lives of 1970s Black women in the South, with themes that seem all too relevant in 2024. 

Coco Queens runs at TheatreWorks on the Square through July 28th.

Categories
Theater Theater Feature

Katori Hall’s The Hot Wing King at Circuit Playhouse

The play opens in the kitchen and stays there for almost the entirety of the show. (Photos: Sean Moore)

It’s difficult to imagine a more Memphis-centric theater outing than the opening night of The Circuit Playhouse’s production of The Hot Wing King — written by Memphis native Katori Hall, performed by a cast of six Memphis residents, set in Memphis, and attended by none other than the mayor of Memphis.

If the audience’s response is anything to go by, this show’s success could be described not by a traditional two thumbs-up, but rather by a rapid-fire volley of finger snaps. The Hot Wing King serves up not only an often-hilarious look at the bonds and squabbles of a found family, but also a refreshing, unapologetic depiction of gay Black men comfortably presenting a full range of everything non-toxic masculinity can be.

This play has a bit of a sitcom-like feel to it, right down to Andrew Mannion’s scene design of a slightly upscale lived-in Memphis house. The play opens in the kitchen and we stay there for almost the entirety of the show, but you’ll find no complaints here as the set dressing was beautifully homey.

The Hot Wing King follows Cordell, a St. Louis native who recently relocated to Memphis to move in with his boyfriend, Dwayne. Their cohabitation seems like it’s off to a rocky start despite their obvious affection and deep feeling for one another. Cordell, who is currently looking for a job, seems to be rubbed the wrong way by the idea of being supported by another person. Thus, he pours himself obsessively into his hobby, trying to win the annual Memphis “Hot Wang Festival.” Much of the play’s two-and-a-half-hour runtime is taken up with the intricacies of the cooking, prepping, marinating, etc. of the wings by the couple and their two close friends, but the real meat in this production lies in the struggle of the characters’ internal battles of guilt and accountability, and of the external conflicts that subsequently stem from within.

One such major conflict arises when Dwayne’s nephew EJ and EJ’s father TJ make unexpected appearances in the middle of the festival prep. Sixteen-year-old EJ is in need of a place to stay, and as his mother, Dwayne’s sister, died after being restrained by police (police that Dwayne had called for a welfare check) almost exactly two years ago, it’s understandable why Dwayne wants to take EJ in. At least, it’s understandable to the audience. Cordell, on the other hand, is still struggling with his discordant relationship with his own adult children, who don’t know that he divorced their mother in order to pursue a relationship with Dwayne.

The situation is messy, yet it has an air of familiarity to it that most audience members will probably be able to relate to. Anyone who has been through great loss will understand that though everyday events and emotions are a necessity for navigating daily life, the pain is never too far away. While the dialogue occasionally drifts into somewhat unrealistically poetic expressions of this sort of grief and pain, the cast carries it off well. The jump between comedic hijinks and somber self-reflection doesn’t feel quite as stark as it could, when the actors are performing with such open honesty.

What makes this play truly special and important is the matter-of-fact presentation of queer Black men who are completely at ease with their sexuality. As a straight white woman, I can only imagine what it would mean to see that kind of representation onstage to a person struggling with their own sexual identity. What I especially appreciated was Katori Hall’s method of revealing the characters’ struggles after we had been introduced to their confidence. Again, I have only imagination and empathy to go off of here, but I think seeing these characters being their full authentic selves would be inspiring to young queer people; to see that they, too, overcame struggles to get to that point could only be incredibly validating.

When it comes to serving up quality theater, The Hot Wing King has everything to offer: heart, saucy exchanges, slapstick comedy, and even redemption.

The Hot Wing King runs at The Circuit Playhouse through June 2nd.

Categories
News News Blog Theater Theater Feature

Michael Detroit to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Michael Detroit, executive producer at Playhouse on the Square (Photo: Carla McDonald)

Memphis’ annual Ostrander Awards honor the season’s best local theatrical productions. 

Mostly. 

But there is one category that gives a standing ovation to someone who has had an ongoing, yearslong impact on the theater scene. 

The Eugart Yerian Award for Lifetime Achievement has put the spotlight on these singular people since 1984, and this year, the distinction will go to Michael Detroit, executive producer at Playhouse on the Square, a professional resident theater company. 

Detroit started at Playhouse when he came to Memphis in 1989. And he’s done it all: actor (stage, film, television, commercials), director, singer, costumer, choreographer, professor, creator of the Unified Professional Theatre Auditions (UPTA), civic activist, and more.

When Detroit took over at Playhouse from founder Jackie Nichols in 2018, he was more than ready, having been associate producer since 1998. As executive producer, he manages $15 million in capital assets, a $3.3 million annual budget, an endowment of more than $7 million, and 40 full- and part-time employees, including hundreds of contract actors, designers, and directors.

Being ready to take over also helped when the global pandemic hit, forcing arts organizations to rethink how to keep creating — and delivering — art. Detroit and Whitney Jo, managing director at Playhouse, were able to ensure that no staff or company member was laid off because of the pandemic. Further, they devised ways of creating online content to sustain interest and involvement.

Detroit will receive the award at the Ostranders ceremonies on August 26th at the Orpheum.

The Memphis Flyer asked Detroit about the highlights of his 35 years in Memphis.

Memphis Flyer: Tell us about your journey since you came to Memphis in 1989.

Michael Detroit: I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve been able to make a living in the arts, which is hard for anybody that goes into the arts. For me, it was a history of piecemealing things together — doing theater, doing video gigs, doing voiceovers, doing print work, and teaching and all the things you did to make a living as a younger artist. And I’ve been able to stay with it and make a living out of it. With that kind of vision in mind, my goal since I became executive producer was to strengthen our ability to have artists have the ability to make a living in Memphis — things like salaries and working conditions and hourly work weeks and all of those things, which is a challenge in any artistic format for sure. 

What are some of the initiatives behind your vision?

It goes back to things like UPTA, where we’ve got 1,100 people coming in over four days with 85-plus companies and 850 actors all looking for work that pays across the country. We’re also very committed to partnering with our friends at the Greater Memphis Chamber. Playhouse belongs to seven different chambers and I wanted to make sure that we were doing that so that we were civically engaged, not just an artistic company, but as a small business in Memphis. And that creates an awareness of employees, but just like the big folks out there, like FedEx and IP and Nike and AutoZone, we want to attract and retain the talent that we have here as actors and designers and technicians and admin folks. 

You have to have material that they want to work with and work on, but you’ve got to pay them a salary that’s of value to them. And that’s what UPTA was created for, to help folks find work, and certainly to help Playhouse find talent. Coming out of that too, making sure that what we’re bringing to the table is a lot more newer work, perhaps than we had done in the past, and certainly a greater diversity of work than we have been doing in the last, let’s say, couple of decades. So, we’re getting back to our roots in terms of types of shows we’re doing. 

You like to see where there’s a need and then take steps to meet it, right?

Yes, things like the Queer Youth Theater Program. We chose to do it, recognizing that as something that’s important for our community, we’ve been able to do that and do it proudly, do it unabashedly. It’s easy to identify issues. It’s challenging to find the right materials to put in front of folks that help push that needle in one direction or the other that reflects that diversity of our community. So yeah, we’re going to do the family shows because that’s part of our community, but then we’re going to do shows that talk about the politics that we’re dealing with right now.

I’ve also been helping theatrical licensing companies realize that Playhouse on the Square in Memphis is a treasure to be had because we can produce things here in the Mid-South that these licensing companies, quite frankly, can’t really license anywhere else. And they realize quickly when we produce things that perhaps they can be produced in other places. 

You were instrumental in organizing last year’s arts-centered mayoral forum. How did that go?

We worked with various other folks through the Memphis Cultural Coalition who had strong contacts into the various mayoral candidates committees. We got four of them here at Playhouse to talk to a full house of people, and it was specifically geared towards the arts. It’s something, as far as I know, that had never happened before, and it was extremely successful. We had four candidates committing to creating something or engaging the arts as a way for Memphis to move forward. We see that now in Mayor Paul Young’s messaging. We had a chamber event at the Memphis Botanic Garden last week, and he talked about it there, and he’s talking about it without being fed a line about it. He’s making it part of his platform. If you feed the arts, you feed business. Without a strong professional arts component, especially in a city, you become a tier-two city. And we want to be a tier-one city. It’s important to keep those organizations vital and thriving.