HOW IT'S GON' BE to Have West Coast premiere at Echo Theater Company

 “You out here chasin’ manhood, but manhood gon’ find you first.” Ahmed Best (Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies) directs Echo Theater Company’s West Coast premiere of How It’s Gon’ Be, a poetic coming-of-age tale by JuCoby Johnson. Performances take place September 16 through October 23 at the Echo’s home at Atwater Village Theatre, with three pay-what-you-want previews on September 13, 14 and 15.

With adulthood looming in the distance, Jahaan and his friends are enjoying the last precious moments of summer vacation. When Jahaan’s father returns after a year away, the world stops spinning for a moment — and lines are drawn in the sand. How It’s Gon’ Be is a slice of one Black boy’s life during the summer he becomes a man — and an artist. 

Funny, sweet, poignant, and written in Johnson’s poetic and lyrical style, the relationships between budding young writer Jahann (played by Donte Ashon Green) and his mother (Karla Mosley), father (Sedale Threatt Jr.) and best friends (Michael Howard-Dossett, Durran Moreau and Nona Johnson) are loosely based on the playwright’s own childhood and strongly rooted in reality.

“I wanted to capture the heart of a young artist trying to figure out where he fits in,” Johnson explains. “These characters each have a deep love for one another that they’re trying and failing to communicate. It’s often difficult and scary to share our love, even with the people we’re closest to.”

“This play is about that summer, says Best. “That summer that forced you to grow. It’s about dancing in plain sight when nobody’s looking, but then having to come out as your authentic self regardless of judgment. It takes courage in this society to become an artist. To be Black and become an artist is to take a deep dive.”

How It’s Gon’ Be received its world premiere in May, 2019 in an Underdog Theatre production at Minneapolis’s Mixed Blood Theatre. Critics called it “a wonderful snapshot into a young Black teen's life” (Broadway World); “beautifully written” (Cherry and Spoon); and “thoughtfully moving... radiates heart” (Talkin’ Broadway).

The Echo creative team includes scenic designer Amanda Knehans; lighting designer Justin Huen; sound designer Alysha Grace Bermudez; co-costume designers Ann Closs-Farley and Sophia Grose; graphics designer Christopher Komuro; and casting director Tal Fox. The production stage manager is Jenny Park. Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson and Sam Morelos are associate producers, and Chris Fields and Kelly Beech produce for the Echo Theater Company.

Johnson’s other plays include …but you could've held my hand (2020 O'Neill National Playwrghts Conference); 5 (2022 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, Seven Devils finalist); I'll Be Seeing You Again (Jungle Theater’s “Jungle Serial” audio series); and Revelations (Playing On Air). He was a 2021-2022 McKnight Fellow in Playwriting, an official selection for the 2022 Sony Pictures Television Diverse Writers Program, and is currently an artistic associate at the Jungle Theater.

Founded in 1997, the Echo Theater Company has gained a reputation for producing and developing exciting new work. Under the artistic leadership of Chris Fields, the company has championed playwrights for a quarter century, producing and commissioning numerous world premieres and introducing Los Angeles to playwrights David Lindsay-Abaire, Adam Rapp and Sarah Ruhl among others. The Echo has won countless Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Ovation, LA Weekly and Stage Raw awards, and is frequently cited on end-of-the-year “Best of Lists” including by the Los Angeles Times, LA Observed and NPR affiliate KCRW 89.9 FM, among others. The company was anointed “Best Bet for Ballsy Original Plays” by the LA Weekly and was a recipient of a “Kilroy Cake Drop” to honor its efforts to produce women and trans writers. KCRW declared that “Echo Theater Company is on a fierce journey,” and Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote, “Artistic directors of theaters of all sizes would be wise to follow the [lead] of the Echo’s Chris Fields, who [is] building audience communities eager for the challenge of path-breaking plays.” 

How It’s Gon’ Be opens on Saturday, Sept. 16, with performances continuing on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 4 p.m.; and Mondays at 8 p.m. through October 23. Three preview performances are set for Wednesday, Sept. 13; Thursday, Sept. 14; and Friday, Sept. 15, each at 8 p.m. Tickets are $34 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. All Monday night performances, as well as previews, are pay-what-you-want. Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Ave in Los Angeles, CA 90039. 

For more information and to purchase tickets, call (310) 307-3753 or go to www.EchoTheaterCompany.com. 
 

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