Displaying items by tag: Rashaad Hall

There are a few plays that focus on the love between two brothers. There are even fewer that will allow you to understand the brother’s fears, desires, and dreams throughout their heartfelt journey together. A story of two brothers who not only try to find peace between each other but peace within the gritty environment they inherited. The second installment of acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCarney’s Brother/Sisters trilogy, The Brothers Size, returns to the Steppenwolf theatre for the first time since its celebrated Chicago 2010 premiere.

The Brothers Size is the story of Oshoosi Size and his return home from prison. He lives with his tough older brother, Ogun Size, who runs an auto shop by himself. Ogun pushes Oshoosi to find work and to start rebuilding his life, but Oshoosi has bigger dreams than his older sibling and fantasizes himself in the company of a woman or driving around without a care in the world with his best friend, Elegba. The brother’s opposing views on life cause them to clash. Challenging them to find a way to understand one another. Elegba jumps in and out of Ogun and Oshoosi's life as a devoted friend who served time alongside Oshoosi. Oshoosi embraces Elegba as not only a friend but sometimes a lover, but Ogun can’t help but see Elegba as a threat.

Director Monty Cole brings this play to life with a dark, mulch covered stage that evokes the feeling of being inside an industrial environment where men work under a full moon with beads of sweat dripping off their fingertips; dreaming of better days. The stage is a reflection of the hard labor Ogun pushes upon himself to maintain. A life Oshoosi shuns away from, seeking a paradise his brother can never understand. After Oshoosi and Elegba find himself in trouble with the law again, Ogun is left with a decision that could change not only his brother’s life but his own.

McCraney's In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue was the basis for the Oscar-winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The middle piece of his acclaimed triptych is another brilliant piece from McCraney’s catalog. The Brothers Size is written with a raw and poetic language, enriched with West African Yoruba mythology. Not only are the characters borrowed from its tales, but the play uses the mythology as a device to drive the story. In the first scene, each character enters the stage to the beat of a drum. They’re chanting and stomping the stage barefooted, side by side, connecting to their ancestors who walked around as beautiful, free men. An undeniable parallel as each character throughout the play struggles to find freedom within themselves.

In his Steppenwolf debut, Patrick Agada (Oshoosi Size) brings an electrifying energy to the stage that has to be pointed out. Manny Buckley (Ogun Size) and Rashaad Hall (Elegeba) give passionate performances that are not overshadowed by Agada’s nor superior. They weave together into a sweet harmony similar to a jazz ensemble that’s been playing together for years. When they share the stage, their performances melt together into a stunning work of art, and when its time to stand out on their own they do so in a way that seems effortless.

McCarney quoted: "The prison industrial complex as we know it...destroys families—and changes lives forever." The Brothers Size gives insight into the reality of a loved one trapped in a system that was never designed for him/her to succeed. It unveils the depth of brotherly love and how the grief caused by this complex is not a burden solely rested on those who’ve been imprisoned but shared with the loved ones they left behind.

Through October 19, 2019 at Steppenwolf Theatre.

About Face Theatre’s Time Is on Our Side is a wonderful play that carries a LGBTQ theme throughout. This might make some people uncomfortable – and for those it does, this play is a must see. The subject matter is very open. The characters are very open. I found it simply charming. The story is truly timeless.

Sexuality has been one of the biggest topics of discussion since the beginning of time. Actually, in many cases, it is the topic of no-discussion. Fears and phobias run amuck when you start talking about sex. The fact that there even needs to be an LGBTQ community is ridiculous. Labeling is only counterproductive to the evolution of our species.

The play starts with two people, Curtis and Annie, producing a podcast to “queer history” that ultimately has them stumble upon a secretive family journal belonging to Annie’s Grandmother that prompts an investigation into the history of the LGBTQ movement. Their examination takes them on a journey down many roads from Rosa Parks to the AIDS Quilt as more and more past events are brought to the open.

Well-written and superbly performed, Time Is on Our Side is a very entertaining play filled with several hilarious moments while also bringing to the surface many thought-provoking topics. The first act set up the second very well. It was full of surprises even though there was some serious foreshadowing taking place. A well-conceived production, director Megan Carney and writer R. Eric Thomas should be proud of their achievement.

“This is a hilarious and deeply personal story,” comments Director Megan Carney. “It brings together rich characters of different generations who share a longing to connect, which makes it such a perfect play for us at About Face Theatre. The play weaves a range of stories in which younger folks uncover their roots and elders pass on what they know. Altogether, a powerful story emerges revealing acts of resistance and queer magic through the decades.” 

Rashaad Hall as Curtis and Maggie Scranton as Annie are outstanding in their roles. Riley Mondragon plays Claudia and plays the role amazingly well. I thought she stole the show until we are introduced to Rene played by Esteban Andres Cruz, who is a true scene stealer. Cruz also shows his versatility by playing another character in the play, as does Mondragon.

I believe the LGBTQ labeling needs to stop so that one day we can just refer to everyone as people. We come in all varieties. What people do is their own business and not and not anyone else’s. The fact that there needs to be a community based on being “different” is unfortunate. What is different? The more you dig, the more you realize how similar we are, not how different.

I wholeheartedly recommend this funny and highly-stimulating play.

Time Is on Our Side is being performed at Theater Wit through April 7th. For more information on this play, visit www.aboutfacetheatre.com.