Review: Philadelphia Premiere of CHOIR BOY at Philadelphia Theatre Company

The Philadelphia premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's moving, coming of age play Choir Boy officially opened last night, brought to the stage by Philadelphia Theatre Company. McCraney, whose film Moonlight (based on his stage play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue) earned him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, explores similarly raw and poignant territory in Choir Boy.

Set within the proud, prestigious walls of Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, an all-boys prep school for young black men, Choir Boy tells the story of Pharus (Justen Ross), a student whose sexuality is an open secret. Obvious to others, Pharus is met with outright hostility and homophobic slurs from classmates Bobby (Jeremy Cousar) and Junior (Tristan André), and well-intentioned, but emotionally damaging guidance from the school's headmaster (Akeem Davis) to tamper down his more effeminate mannerisms. The Drew choir, led by the talented Pharus, is comprised of Bobby, Junior, AJ (Jamaal Fields-Green), Pharus' straight and sympathetic roommate, and David (Dana Orange), an aspiring minister wrestling with an inner turmoil and struggling with his grades. These young men come to blows with one another again and again, each fighting inner battles as they grapple to understand themselves and each other. Pharus, Bobby, Junior, AJ, and David, under the well-meaning but often cloudy tutelage of Headmaster Marrow, and "Critical Thinking" teacher Mr. Pendleton (PJ Benjamin), navigate how to move through the world with the circumstances they were given. Choir Boy throws a magnifying glass onto masculinity, sexuality, legacy, and explores what being a strong black man means for each of these characters.

The inner emotions of these young men are expressed outwardly through song. Featuring an affective new Gospel and R&B score by Crystal Monee Hall, the characters come together in beautiful harmony at moments of heightened tension. During one of Mr. Pendleton's classes, Pharus makes an impassioned speech disputing the belief, previously stated by Bobby, that spiritual songs had contained coded messages to help African Americans escape from slavery. Pharus believes that the real power in these songs was a more personal power, their purpose to strengthen internally. These five characters coming together in song for different reasons is an impactful tool in understanding each of their motivations. It connects their stories and their struggles while moving the story forward.

Each choice made by the creative team behind this production works together to serve the larger picture. The scenic design by Christopher Ash smartly informs the setting without spelling everything out to the audience. Large white columns hang down in floating, cross-like structures from the ceiling, while three-dimensional rectangles encase the action from all sides, serving as smaller stages and playing with visual perspective. Cement-colored stairs act as both the risers in the choir room and as the beds in the dorm room, while portable, three-dimensional cement-colored cubes are used to simulate chairs and desks. It all works together like a skeleton, a support structure of bones and building blocks for these characters to raise themselves up on. Most importantly, it leaves room for the audience to imagine what these characters are attempting to build for themselves. The lighting design, also by Christopher Ash, fades from shades of blue to red, a visual representation of the play's and the characters' shifting moods.

Justen Ross, Jeremy Cousar, Tristan André, Jamaal Fields-Green, and Dana Orange as Pharus, Bobby, Junior, AJ, and David, are spectacular, and Akeem Davis and PJ Benjamin as Headmaster Marrow and Mr. Pendleton are also fantastic. Each actor brings forth a rich and nuanced portrayal of these characters, allowing every facet of the play to be explored to its fullest.

Through every aspect of its storytelling, Philadelphia Theatre Company's Choir Boy, directed by PTC Resident Artist Jeffrey L. Page, effectively examines the inner and outer lives of its characters, while allowing you to do the same for yourself.

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Choir Boy runs February 18 - March 13. Tickets are on sale now starting at $35. PTC continues its 10Tix program, supported by PNC Arts Alive, providing a select number of seats at $10 for every performance. Tickets are available at www.philatheatreco.org or by phone at 215-985-0420. All shows are performed at PTC's home at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146.

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