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| dapping up: hubens "bobby" cius & kadahj bennett in "pass over" (photo: nile scott studio) |
pass
over, a new play by antoinette
nwandu, is the current co-production by speakeasy stage company and
the front porch arts collective. after first being performed by
chicago's steppenwolf, it was then produced in new york at lincoln
center, where it won the lortel award for best play (and was filmed
for amazon by none other than spike lee).
described
as a “mash-up” of waiting for godot (considered
by some as a theatrical masterpiece and by others as like watching
paint dry) and the exodus story. at a spare ninety minutes, directed
by monica white ndounou, it's written all in lower case, reminiscent
of the poetry of e.e.cummings, performed as though it were blank
verse or rap without music. the setting is “now, right now, but
also 1855, but also the thirteenth century b.c.e”. the time is “a
ghetto street, a lamppost, night, but also a plantation, but also
egypt, a city built by slaves”.
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| ossifer enters: lewis d. wheeler, hubens "bobby" cius & kadahj bennett in "pass over" (photo: nile scott studios) |
its
cast is spare as well. one is a young black man named moses (kadahj
bennett) “but also a slave driver, but also the prophesied leader
of god's chosen people”; a second young black man is named kitch
(hubens “bobby” cius) “but also a slave but also one of god's
chosen”; the remaining two roles, both played by lewis d. wheeler,
are mister, a seemingly wholesome chap given to expressions like
“gosh golly gee”, “but also a plantation owner but also the
pharoah's son” and ossifer, an officer of the law (or “po-op”),
“but also a patroller but also a soldier in the pharoah's army”.
as in the becket play, the two lead characters are unable to leave
their street corner. there is no intermission; if moses and kitch
cannot leave neither can we.
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| mister's picnic: lewis d. wheeler, kadahj bennett & hubens "bobby" cius in "pass over" (photo: nile scott studios) |
there
are some obvious parallels to becket even in a brief synopsis of the
work, but it stands on its own as an absorbing and alarming expose of
contemporary black experience. kitch declares that the name “moses”
portends that he will lead “deez boys right off deez streets on to
dat promised land”. moses himself alludes to a land of milk and
honey despite lactose intolerance and glycemic indexes, as these are
the least of their troubles, truly nothing compared to the
obliviousness of “mister” who cannot grasp why they get to use
the “n-word” but he does not; he is clueless about his not having
the right to use the word. (yet, interestingly, the playwright feels
free to portray moses' use of the charged term “faggot”). moses
disses those who are fixated on passing over to the promised land of
heaven, where he proclaims he wants that good life now. it's telling
that both young men can recall every name of those who have been
killed in their hood, giving the lie to the presumption that these
victims (including one of the most oppressed societal groupings, that
of trans people of color) are ordinary, even forgettable. in ancient
pyramidal times, in the not-so-ancient plantation era, and on the
inescapable street corner, once again history repeats itself, or at
least rhymes.
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| promised land: hubens "bobby" cius & kadahj bennett in "pass over" (photo: nile scott studios) |
attention must be paid not just to the triumph of the playwright's words on the page but also in its execution by director ndounou and her three stellar actors, each of whom seems to be thoroughly immersed in his character. the simple but effective contributions of the creative team include scenic design by baron e. pugh, costume design by chelsea kerl, lighting design by kathy a. perkins, and sound design by anna drummond.
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| promised land 2: hubens "bobby" cius & kadahj bennett in "pass over" (photo: nile scott studios) |
as the
playwright herself puts it, an audience won't be immediately
transformed or relieved of her or his baggage, but find such baggage
“a little bit shifted”. the most memorable aspect of her play, as
opposed to becket's, is that her characters aren't left alone, to
age. just as the frequent use of the “n-word” can never be
completely erased, and in fact has become for the community of color
an expression of brotherhood (and sisterhood), so audience members
may find this sometimes enigmatic work either an affirmation or a
revelation.
what
they won't feel is that it is forgettable, (extended through
february 2nd), but also.....
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