Review: SUCCESSION, Stage Play Written By Charles L. White

This past week, I had the awesome opportunity (for my fifth time) to attend the National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. If you are not familiar with the festival, it is described as "the holy ground" of African American theatre. Founded in 1989, by Larry Leon Hamlin (referred to as Mr. Marvtastic), NBTF has grown to be the number one theatre festival for people of color. Patrons travel from all over the world (In 2019, I met a playwright from South Africa) to experience the magic of excellence in Black theater.

After Mr. Hamlin's death, his fabulous wife, Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin took the reigns to ensure that her husband's "dream" would live on and be advanced. Unfortunately, we lost Mrs. Hamlin in January of this year (2022). At each stage play that was presented this year, two chairs laced in purple satin overlay were displayed to honor the presence of the founders, Larry and Sylvia. Though our hearts are saddened at the loss of our leader, I am proud to say the festival has been left in the capable hands of the now executive producer, Jackie Alexander, the producing artistic director for the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, Inc.

The festival is filled with workshops, press conferences, a gala, celebrity sightings, stage readings, art exhibits, parades, block parties, midnight poetry, youth talent showcases and this year there are short film presentations. But at the center of it all are the main stage productions. This year, there were a variety of excellent performances with powerful messages and musical presentations. From one woman shows to fully-mounted productions, there were so many choices that I was conflicted on which way to go.

One of my favorite main stage presentations was the world premiere dramatization entitled, Succession, written by Charles L. White, produced by the host theater company, NC Black Repertory Company. Succession is the depiction of an aged actor, Marcus Chandler (Sekou Laidlow), who is self-centered around his own ego and accomplishments without regard of those who walked along side him. A younger actor on-the-rise, Steve Harrison (Justin Walker White), operating on false-humility with the true intention/goal to take his predecessor's place, maneuvered his way into a position as Marcus' personal assistant. The path that he thought would lead him to the top, actually landed him on the bottom...because he lied, connived, and chased after fool's gold. Though Steve had talent, his lack of Integrity caused him to miss the mark, a supporting role instead of the lead role on Broadway.

The twist and turns in this masterpiece showed the extreme lengths an overly-ambitious actor will take to "get to the top". As Malcolm X famously stated, "By Any Means Necessary!" The hidden gem or unhighlighted factor that made impact on me was that it was the women, Maxine "Max" Favors (Melanie Matthews) and Billie Simpson (April Mae Davis) who were the wheel that steered the aging actor's career all the way to Broadway.

From my perspective, the trait of a good stage play is the ability to generate conversations between the theater patrons with a 1,000 (figuratively) possible interpretations and possible outcomes. Succession definitely exceeded my goal. I'm still thinking about possible takeaways. I send kudos to the casting director for a perfect cast, superb directing by Eric J. Little and a well-written script by Charles L. White. Succession should be on Broadway...the same outcome as the fictitious depiction.

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