THE BEST BROTHER Comes to Theater For the New City

 From February 6 to 23, Theater for the New City will present the world premiere of "The Best Brother," written and directed by emerging playwright Victor Vauban Júnior. The play is a work of social realism, celebrating the survival of brotherly love under extraordinary circumstances--war, religious indoctrination, life-altering change and the loss of a parent.

"The Best Brother" begins in the 1980's. Two pre-teen African-American boys--models of brotherly closeness-- are being raised in Harlem by an American mother and a righteous, religious African-born father who violently resists his wife's ambition to become a professional singer.  When these parents are forced by their cultural differences to divorce, their boys are separated.  The elder son, Daniel, must go with his father to Angola, where the father dies fighting in the Civil War. The younger boy, Paolo, must remain here with his mother, who loses her operatic voice and descends into alcoholism.  Twenty-two years later, the older son, now a religious man, finds the means to return to America and reconnect with his long-lost family. To his despair, he finds that his mother has died and his beloved brother is nowhere to be found. Although repatriated, Daniel does not understand the new America and finds himself in another war trying to restore closeness with his long-lost brother.  The play asks, "Under what circumstances does brotherly love allow itself to thrive?" It was originally titled "Brother Sou - 1980." The title “Brother Sou" means, “Brother I am." The word “Sou" in Portuguese, a main language of Angola, means, “I am."

The heart of the play lies in the emotional journey of these two brothers, who are separated by circumstances beyond their control but bound by an enduring, if complicated, attachment. Its narrative structure, with flashbacks between the 1980s and the present day, gives it a cinematic feel, weaving together different times and perspectives to explore how events and experiences shape family bonds over time. Its global scope (Harlem, Angola, and the larger African-American experience) adds depth and intrigue to the storytelling.  

The actors are  Christal Alexander, Yvette Quintero, Victor Vauban Junior, Obi Nwako and Caleb Streety.  Lighting design is by Alexander Bartenieff.  Costume design is by Everett Clark.  Lighting operator is Geoffrey Christopher and sound operator is Lola Lukas.

Victor Vauban Júnior (playwright/director), born in Brazil, has lived in the US for 20 years.  He is a former circus performer who discovered a new passion in writing for the theater. His plays have appeared at the Writer’s Guild and in The Guild magazine, and readings of his plays have been presented in the Classical Theater of Harlem’s workshop.  He has participated since 2012 in “Writers in Performance" at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, under the tutelage of Mario Giacalone. His plays “Martin’s T.R.U.T.H" and "LEAVES" have been featured at the Strawberry Play Festival Competition in Manhattan, collecting several awards and nominations.  He has been an instructor at Cirque du Soleil’s social program, Cirque du Monde, and he has toured with well-known international circus companies such as UniverSoul Circus, Gran Circus Norte-Americano, the Beto Carrero Show, Gran Bartholo Circus and Circus Amok.

"The Best Brother" is a production of Theater for the New City's Emerging Playwrights Program.  This program is integral to the theater's mission, which includes being a center for new and innovative theater arts, discovering relevant new writing and nurturing new playwrights. Playwright Victor Vauban Júnior writes, "How excited I am to bring my new production to the Theater for the New City, the birth place of so many great artists and productions in NYC. I feel blessed and grateful for having such an opportunity, as I am trying to find my voice and place in the American Theater universe. Much appreciation."

To post a comment, you must register and login.