BWW Reviews: Stray Cat Theatre's THE BROTHERS SIZE Pulsates With The Rhythms of Loss, Freedom, and Redemption ~ A Tour De Force!

Ron May once again distinguishes himself as a creative force in his brilliant and sensitive direction of Tarell McCraney's The Brothers Size. Damon J. Bolling, Michael Thompson, and DeJean Brown deliver riveting, muscular, and breathtaking performances as the play's protagonists (Ogun, Oshoosi, and Elegba).

This play is storytelling in its highest form, drilling deep into the heart of human darkness and tapping a wellspring of sounds and furies that jostles an audience's thoughts and emotions. We become partners in the drama of the characters, understanding their expectations, aspirations, and follies.

Indeed, the actors are at one and the same time both the performers and the narrators of their tale, employing a device whereby each announces his stage direction ~ "Elegba enters, drifting, like the moon" ~ and conveying a sense of both time and timelessness in a play that is after all set in "the distant present." We are on a magical carpet ride, traversing cultures, sensing the links between past and present, absorbing the rhythms and textures of time and place.

The brothers Ogun (Bolling) and Oshoosi (Thompson) have traveled different paths, and like their namesakes (Yoruban tribal deities), possess distinct attributes that set them apart and yet bind them. Ogun is a mechanic with a steely work ethic who urges his brother Oshoosi, recently released from prison, to get a job. Oshoosi, on the other hand, scoffs at the notion of work, preferring rather to find himself. He will not be imprisoned again, he will not be enslaved, he must not be reminded of captivity, he will find freedom ~ if only he can resist the temptations of his friend Elegba (Brown).

The tension between the characters is a dance of wills, dramatically visible in their richly defined gestures and movements, ever rhythmic and pulsating, and reaching a crescendo in a moment of brotherhood that admittedly moved me and brought tears to my eyes.

It is said that McCraney, while an assistant to August Wilson on Radio Golf (which, coincidentally, is now onstage at Black Theatre Troupe) was advised by his mentor that "You need music, you must always have music." Indeed, The Brothers Size is rich with music: the chirping of crickets in counterpoint to African chants, the sinister clanking of chains, exotic drumbeats, the robust vocalization of the actors.

The experience of this production is heightened by Eric Beeck's stark but elegant set, beautifully accented by Ellen Bone's lighting, that transports us into the humid environs of the Louisiana bayou town of San Pere. Framed by (appropriately) weeping willows, Ogun's yard is crammed with the tools of his trade. One can almost feel the heat and smell the grease and oil. A raised platform is the stage on which the dance ensues and evolves.

After experiencing this production, it is perfectly easy to understand why the Chicago Tribune hailed The Brothers Size as "the greatest piece of writing by an American playwright under 30 in a generation or more." Ron May's production has served to enhance and solidify that proposition.

The Brothers Size continues at Stray Cat Theatre through October 4th.

Photo credit to John Groseclose.

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