Review: FOR COLORED GIRLS/WORD BECOMES FLESH at Theater Alliance

Theater Alliance's for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf and Word Becomes Flesh are both beautiful theatrical experiences; when presented together their power and resonance only magnifies.

While it's tempting to call both pieces "plays", they're really more than that. Part spoken word, part dance and movement, part metered poetry, both pieces explore what it means to be a person of color in the United States today. for colored girls flickers between stories of womanhood in it's many forms: first loves, friendship, motherhood, and celebration of female sexuality. Word Becomes Flesh frames the struggle of black manhood specifically around the transition into fatherhood, and examines the many pressures and hopes that black fathers grapple with. Press night audience members were lucky enough to see both pieces back-to-back, which is an experience I recommend you replicate if you have the time (and the opportunity on Sunday March 6, 13, or 20 or Saturday March 26). The pieces reference the opposite gender with both frustration and admiration, and witnessing both perspectives in the same night adds depths of understanding to the struggles of both groups.

The ensemble members of for colored girls have an obvious, strong bond that shines on stage. They present personal monologues (the first person account of a young woman loosing her virginity, a woman fighting to protect her children from their abusive father) and flowing poetry (about the right of women of color to experience personal sorrow, about the trauma of sexual assault) with aplomb. The audience's mood shifts from silent, rapt observance, to engagement, letting out sounds of sympathy and support, as the piece weaves between story lines and spoken word. Two actresses sometimes present one monologue, letting the dialogue of one character bounce back and forth between them. The ensemble never misses a beat, and this strategy is effective in reinforcing the universality and sisterhood present in the stories being told.

Word Becomes Flesh features a similarly strong ensemble that performs Psalmayene24's complex choreography flawlessly. The dance and movement in the piece is sometimes challenging (such as when the actors portray the spirits of racism and capitalism) and sometimes comical (a re-enactment of a natural birthing class) but all is executed to great effect. The piece exists deep in the consciousness of a black man as he expects his first child, and the heart beat of the sonogram continually returns as the anchor of the rhythm and movement of the piece. In perhaps the most powerful moment of the night, this heartbeat is echoed as the actors marched off stage, cradling their invisible children, as protesters' cries of "black lives matter!" were heard in the distance, effectively shrinking the universal protest cry into a personal moment between father and child.

The sound design for for colored girls and Word Becomes Flesh, by David Lamont Wilson and Nick tha 1da respectively, adds subtle flavor to the production without disrupting any transitions, a true accomplishment in pieces so full of change and energy. Ethan Sinnott's multi-level set provides both ensembles with just the right amount of space, of which Deidra Starnes' and Psalmayene24's direction makes full and effective use.

for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf and Word Becomes Flesh run at the Anacostia Playhouse until March 26, 2016. Tickets can be found here.

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