Keenan Scott II’s THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN —A LOOK INTO HEARTS.
In Keenan Scott II’s history-making Broadway show THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN ( https://thoughtsofacoloredman.com/ ) Happiness (Bryan Terrell Clark) turned to the audience with a question and hope, sharing, that “I can’t wait for the day when my skin isn’t a novelty,” and my answer, to his wish, is simple: me too.
It’s crystal clear that Keenan Scott II understands the very DNA that runs through all of the African, and African-American men that are presented on the stage.
Even before the play opened on Broadway, The Thoughts of a Colored Man' made history —on Broadway—as the first Broadway play to be written by, directed by, produced by starred by African and African American artists.
In a series of vignettes and soliloquies set in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood over the course of a single day, Scott’s identity is infused into seven different characters, each representing a distinct emotion. Big feelings like depression, happiness, wisdom all meshed together, to help us glimpse an expression of a race.
Under the direction of Steve H. Broadnax III, Scott’s dialogue pushed into the heart, and minds of the seven assembled. A joy to watch and perfectly cast, with each actor representing an emotion: Anger (Tristan Mack Wilds), Happiness (Bryan Terrell Clark), Love (Dyllón Burnside), Lust (Da’Vinchi), Passion (Luke James), Depression (Forrest McClendon), and Wisdom (Esau Pritchett).
This is a neighborhood click which is represented by an effectively simple set by Robert Brill with a focus on a very big billboard that serves as a blank canvas that sometimes, springs to life, with visuals to enhance a characters’ backstory.
Seven emotions that we all understand. Lust (20-year-old) is obsessed with no-strings sex. But it’s depression, (McClendon) that leaves the biggest impression. His character works at avWholefoods, a high-end type grocery store and yet he’s a genius who walked away from a full scholarship at MIT to care for his sick mother and two, younger siblings.
Wisdom, is an African immigrant, in his 60s, who runs the block’s barbershop, where his authority is unquestioned. He’s the promise of the jewels we receive and the peace of mind.
But it’s Anger, a college basketball coach, that delivers a monologue in which he tells us that “I use to be nice,” piles on the frustration of a dream deferred. And as the crescendo, this is a powerful and emotional ending, that helps us understand his character better — “I use to be NICE!”
Broadnax III’s staging could have used the billboard better but maybe he wanted us to use our imagination more?
“All we ever wanted was to be ourselves,” Depression sputters. “To live.” Get it?
Starring Dyllón Burnside, Bryan Terrell Clark, Da’Vinchi, Bjorn DuPaty, Luke James, Forrest McClendon, Esau Pritchett, Garrett Turner, and Tristan Mack Wilds.
Golden Theatre; 802 seats; $16
https://thoughtsofacoloredman.com/
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