Review: ANTIONETTE NWANDU'S PASSOVER STRIKES A POWERFUL CHORD at OUTCAST THEATRE COLLECTIVE

"My moms always told me, 'How long you gonna play the victim?' I can say I'm mad and I hate everything, but nothing really changes until I change myself." -Kendrick Lamar- As seen on Art Work in the Lobby

"Not everyone will understand your journey. That's okay. You're here to live your life, not to make everyone understand." -Banksy- As seen on Art Work in the Lobby

"... I hope this piece changes you in a profound way..."-Said by Director Erica Sutherlin during her Curtain Speech

Kitch and Moses sit on the corner of a nondescript street, underneath a streetlight adorned with an old tire and over-turned shopping cart. "The Block" is what they call this specific corner. No city has been identified, but we know the time is now, but also 1855, but also 13th Century BCE. Like I stated before; a ghetto street, a lamppost at night, but also a plantation, but also Egypt, a city built by slaves. Crystal clear, right? Let's break it down even further as we explore the inner workings of Antoinette Nwandu's explosive new play Passover, onstage and in collaboration with Studio620 and Outcast Theatre Collective.

Passover a searing 75-minute modern riff on Waiting for Godot puts Kitch and Moses at the center of the story and the Existential Crisis surrounding them is whether or not they are going to make it off "The Block" alive or end up like their friends. Are they ever going to truly reach "Passover" without getting made in the process? Are they going to achieve their higher purpose, or just amount to becoming another statistic, another part of the story?

Nwandu drew from the death of Trayvon Martin and the book of Exodus as inspiration for this piece. She cycled through changes of different endings between productions. The earlier versions saw the characters facing one end, while the recently mounted Broadway production saw an entirely different one. According to Nwandu, it came time to decide whether the piece should still be based on earlier drafts drawn from Anger or if there should be a "tonal" shift and more of a communal response. In a recent statement in New York Times, Nwandu stated,

"I wrote the other versions of the play out of anger, and out of desire to shock white people into caring about the fact that Black lives matter, now I'm ready to step back from that role of needing to indict white America..."

Nwandu continues discussing the piece when she stated in the same statement,

"...we all know we need some sort of communal healing. We have to witness. We have to grieve. We have to heal, so we can go out into the world and fight these battles."

For the basis of our benefit, Outcast Theatre Collective in collaboration with Studio620 was a venture across the bay for the Company, and what an exciting partnership. Director Erica Sutherlin, Producer Clareann Despain, and crew established a top-notch tour-de-force cast from top to bottom.

Lance Felton as Kitch is explosive in his portrayal. Jumping from shopping cart to light post, to the tire and commanding the stage he makes you feel his pain, his struggle, and his need for a better life. Tron Montgomery as Moses is truly the ring leader in all his fashion. Like a modern rift on Moses leading his people to the Promised Land, Tron speaks and his Moses commands attention. Everyone will follow him wherever he chooses to go. Early on in the play Moses and Kitch play a game in which one has to list 10 things that would make their perfect "Promised Land," in doing so it allows them to pass the time and the camaraderie between the two men is a joy to watch. These men are so grounded in their work and that is what makes this so appealing. Nothing here is forced, everything is natural. Sometimes when certain scripts are worked there becomes an opportunity to lend more to a caricature. This is not the case here, both men equally deliver exquisite performances that need to be seen. It is a powerful tour de force by both actors involved. Lance Felton made this statement recently on his Facebook,

"It's the first time that I could build from characters I watch on movies every day with my family. The first time I don't have to hear the note "let's try something other than ghetto," or "let's have a more neutral sound and less Southern Baptist." I get to be my true self, a feeling I almost lost tryna please any and everybody. Kitch is me and I am Kitch, I've never felt so at home in a script."

The other character in the play is really two characters played by the same man. The character of "Master/Officer" played by Michael Menszycki is powerful from the moment he first enters the story. You see this White man, in a white suit, carrying a picnic basket who has seemingly stumbled upon a side of town he is all too unfamiliar. When asked who he was or where he was headed, he tells Kitch and Moses that he was en route to visit his ailing mother and bring her food, and he somehow got lost on his way. This elusive character that we don't learn much about wanders into the story rests with the men awhile on account of "weak arches," shares the food, and is gone just as quickly as he came. Now yes of course the three men exchange names and what have you, but the uneasiness that is felt is true masterclass work.

You sense the uneasiness that Kitch and Moses are feeling in the presence of a White man, considering all that has been happening at the hands of the police as of late. "The Po Po is the angel of death themselves," states Moses when talking about the cops. When the man introduces himself as Master it is made very clear where the unrest lies. By no means of threat, or brandishing of weapons the man seems harmless, just confused and lost, so he goes about his way. Later on, Michael returns again in the form of a White cop. Kitch and Moses immediately are on alert, but to no avail, after a few uncomfortable moments, the cop leaves.

Michael's stage presence in each of these moments is commanding. Each time he walks in you could hear a pin drop in the room, for you could sense the thought on everyone's mind. Michael's so good in both of these parts not just in dialogue but in non-verbals as well. You can tell he is grounded in every intention and moment to moment. The villain in this parable of sorts is not an easy task to take on, and Michael does it with pure finesse.

All three men should be commended for the outstanding work they have achieved here. Not one weak link to be seen, each performer is on the top of their game, and you would be doing yourself an extreme disservice if you found yourself without a ticket to this masterclass in acting.

From a technical side, the transformation of this Art Gallery is stunning. Aside from the lobby, you would never know this was an art gallery. The scenic design by Clareann Despain perfectly resembled a street corner in an urban concrete jungle. Complete with Graffiti on the walls. an overturned shopping cart and a stray tire. They brought the outside elements inside and it works here as a functional representation for the world in which the piece resides. Costumes by Saidah Ben Jundah work on all levels here. The mix of contemporary and classic pieces helps blend the story, and three different periods of time together seamlessly. Scenic Artist Tea Roberts did a great job creating the graffiti-inspired design on the back wall. The only minor issue here is the placement of the lighting in regards to the projections. It made it hard to make out some of the images being projected at the powerful moment in the show. Technically the show hands down is functional and work for the show without stealing focus from the dialogue and brava to all involved here.

Erica Sutherlin's direction of this deeply moving piece is spot on. Her work on the text and the ebb and flow of the men in the story is masterful. There takes a certain finesse with stories such as these and Erica and cast navigate the terrain with the smoothest of motion. The journey in which she and the cast take us on is exquisite and we are so happy to have her back in the bay area.

My only minor issue was that some of the fight choreography could have been staged a little more believably in such a small space. Albeit for the safety of actors, I completely understand, but the fighting came across as less a part of the story than it probably could have been initiated. Making the movement slightly more finessed without making it feel forced, I feel as if some of the follow-throughs were missed, I just wanted to feel the impact of the blows the way the characters would feel them and I was missing that here. Hiring a fight coordinator can help with this, or even just having someone versed in stage combat for intimate spaces might make this flow smoother, but nonetheless.

Antoinette Nwandu's Passover is on-stage at STUDIO620 in St Petersburg, FL through February 13, 2022. Performances are Thursday-Saturday at 8 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm. I implore you to arrive early as parking is a feat in and of itself, street parking where available as there currently is no designated lot. Visit thestudioat620.org or outcasttheatre.org for tickets. I repeat you would be doing yourself an extreme disservice if you were to miss this powerful, moving, searing, emotional, and IMPORTANT piece. Premieres are special and sometimes they capture lightning in a bottle. With this, I say to Outcast Theatre Collective, welcome, and with continued work like this, we are glad you are here. Let this Premiere stand as a testament to the mark you continue to make on our community and our hearts!

PHOTO CREDIT: OUTCAST THEATRE COLLECTIVE

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