Review: CHOIR BOY at Dezart Performs

Another season of eye-opening, provocative theater from Dezart Performs has begun with Tarell Alvin McCraney's Choir Boy. It is a tight 100 minutes of story and song performed by an incredibly talented cast.

Plays and movies about boys and girls in their respective prep schools have been made throughout the years, usually a bunch of rich white kids with first world problems and absentee parents. But this play is slightly different. We still have the more privileged kids bullying those without but here's a new twist - Choir Boy features an all black cast at an all black prep school. Okay, there's one white guy which may lead you to believe it is a story about racism. It is not. There is a lot to unpack with this play.

It is filled with beautifully sung a cappella spirituals that support the trajectory of the overlying action, and serving up a not-so-subtle reminder of African American history in these not-so-United States; a shameful reminder of how we've white-washed America's despicable past. It is a reminder that these children of God have only been granted 160 years of freedom from cruel and lazy white men that know zero about being someone else's property. Is there anything worse than not having any autonomy over yourself? And yet, it is still not about racism.

Here's a bare bones synopsis: Five young male seniors at Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys work through some volatile issues with each other and within themselves through dialogue, spirituals and dance. Authority, in the form of the headmaster, dictates their freedoms, reins in their hopes, their dreams, and in the end - does anyone get what they really want?

Like a great deal of Dezart Performs productions, this is a character driven play. There is no outside monumental event pushing the characters to action, the conflict is based on their comportment, strengths, and biases. We, the audience, are very much a fly on the wall, and I don't know if it was Director Michael Matthews, Producers Clark Duggar and Michael Shaw, or Set Designer Jimmy Cuomo's decision to make this play a combination of thrust stage and theater in the round, but it worked. We are on level ground with the kids who almost only leave the lower stage when they are facing authority on the raised stage and when they shower. Both very vulnerable places. More on that in a minute; let's talk about the cast.

He's the boss, so let's start with Headmaster Marrow, a solid performance by Andre G. Brown. Stern yet understanding, he has a job to do and can only bend the rules so far - despite what may be in his heart.

Nicholas Hormann is also solid as Mr. Pendleton, the white professor who has been asked back to teach a class on creative thinking. His opening line is a white man joke that is absolutely tone-deaf, and cringey. However, his character is not as bumbling and tactless as he appears to be at first blush.

Our Students

Dennis Renard shines as protagonist Pharus, a young man who presents as gay, but has never really come out. He's proud and he's swishy, and he has a somewhat devious plan to be leader of the choir so he can sing the solo at his commencement. He believes it will make his mom proud. Renard is great when he's sassy, and heartbreaking when he's vulnerable. Top-notch performance.

David Alan Madrick's Bobby, the antagonist in the play, is your typical bully - not with his fists, but with words. A good-looking and privileged young man, he is severely homophobic, with a near-boiling anger barely concealed by his smugness. The tension between him and Pharus is a catalyst in the play, but again, that is only a piece of what moves the story forward. There are shifts in everything as the play progresses in ways we just didn't see coming. Bobby is the hot bad guy (side note: generally my type). Bobby is who we clearly-in-need-of-therapy girls swoon over because we think we can change them. (Psst: We can't.) Excellent portrayal by Madrick.

Junior, an affable young man under the thrall of Bobby, is played by Nate Summers and I've got to say, for most of what I would call "act one" (there is no intermission but the play feels like two acts nonetheless), he was the one I watched while all of the students were on stage. He's the goofball in the group who finds a little backbone as he grows. Here's the great thing about an actor as good as Summers - he did not have a lot of lines, there was a lot of just being there for Summers, but even when he is silent, he never for one second drops character. To Summers that might seem like a no-brainer, but as an audience member I appreciate his chops and professionalism. Plus, his Junior was a lot of fun.

David, played by Michael Swain-Smith, wants to be a pastor. That's all he wants, to keep his head down, graduate and preach the good Lord's word. Swain-Smith does a phenomenal job in the role, and like Lynn Nottage's Sweat the least likely character comes out of the ether to become a pivotal character in the story. Great restraint and performance by Swain-Smith.

Sometimes a character is so engaging that I want him to be my new BFF. This time AJ (Maurice Alpharicio) wins that spot in my imaginary friend group.

He's a jock, but he's like the hooker with a heart of gold. He's kind and compassionate, and in Aplharicio's hands is someone you want on your side when you need a good friend. If I had met him after the performance I would have felt compelled to hug him.

Matthews' direction and staging was excellent with the actors delivering not one single inauthentic moment to the stage. They all have heavenly voices, and some of the choreography is quite unexpected and echoes the origins of the spirituals.

The designers and crew were as much of an ensemble as the cast (see below for credentials) giving us a seamless production. Applause all the way around. But I do need to call out Jimmy Cuomo's set.

There were a few gasps (that would be me and my seatmate, Alex) when beds slid out from nowhere, and also when the headmaster's office completely transformed into the boy's shower with steam and the illusion of running water (also me and Alex). I should also note there is some brief nudity in the play; it is not full frontal, nor is it in any way gratuitous or uncomfortable.

I have consistently said in this review that the play is not about race, and while homophobia takes an upper hand in the story, that is not really what it's about either. When you've unpacked everything else, and have gotten to the bottom of it, the play is really about identity and acception. Something we all grapple with in life. It is the rare breed of human that doesn't. Can't really even think of one example to offer.

It's really a terrific production, and if you're really quick, you might be able to snag a seat for an 11/5 performance at 2:00 and 7:30pm. The rest of the run is already sold out.

https://dezartperforms.org/

Designers and Crew:

Sound Design: Clark Dugger

Musical Director: Ignoisco Miles

Choreographer: Joyce Guy

Stage Manager: Lexie Secrist

Set Design: Jimmy Cuomo

Lighting Design: Phil Murphy

Costume Design: Frank Cazares

Hair and Make-up Design: Lynda Shaeps

Intimacy Director: Joy DeMichelle

Props Master: Louise Ross

All Photography by David A. Lee

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