This is what makes Foxes, a debut work by actor/playwright Dexter Flanders, a particularly compelling addition to the slowly expanding repertoire.Īs part of the Brits Off Broadway festival at 59E59 Theaters, Foxes introduces us to Daniel (Raphel Famotibe). Overall, however, with the exception of A Strange Loop, the intersection of race and sexuality generally has not been deeply examined in these plays. They also have put in significant appearances in Slave Play, Chicken & Biscuits, and Thoughts of a Colored Man, to name several other recent examples. what the end will be, gay Black men are at front and center. For tickets and more information visit Review by Howard Miller - June 14, 2023Īfter many years of being on the theatrical down-low, stories of gay Black men (if not women) are starting to show up with some regularity on and off Broadway. Tickets are $16, $12 for students, seniors, and veterans. Remaining performances are Monday March 2 at 10:30PM Tuesday March 3 at 5:30PM and Saturday March 7 at 6:40PM. ( Thoughts of a Colored Man on a Day When the Sun Set Too Early plays at The Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street, through March 7, 2015. Needless to say, there is far more to be said about the ways race, class, and gender diverge, collide, and impact everyday life in the US of A. This is not necessarily a problem, but it’s now time for Scott to find his own unique voice. ![]() Shange’s influence is obvious, both in terms of this piece's structure and content. Shortly after penning Thoughts of a Colored Man, the clearly-gifted Keenan Scott II told an interviewer that he was inspired to begin writing his play after watching a 2007 production of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf. ![]() A few updated scenes to incorporate the untimely demise of these young African Americans – and the large-scale protests their deaths triggered - would bring the play into the here-and-now and make it more relevant and timely. That said, the play is nonetheless worthwhile. It’s an odd omission in a play about Black manhood and simultaneously limits the play’s reach and potential power. In addition, because the play was written in 2007 there is no mention of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Akai Gurley, Trayvon Martin, or Tamir Rice. In addition, the omission of gay men of African descent is troubling by casting all eight prototypes as heterosexual, Thoughts of a Colored Man unnecessarily limits the range of Scott’s beloved community. Some, however, are heavy-handed, feeling more like lectures about the evils of race hatred than heart-felt expositions of lived experiences. Indeed, most of the monologues are beautifully poetic. All told, it’s a hearty mix, ably acted by the ensemble. activists who continue to oppose racism and fight for equality and racial justice. What’s more, several of the men Scott showcases are appallingly unschooled, knowing nothing about either Africa or the brave U.S. Other stock characters include hustlers and men trapped in low-wage jobs by circumstances beyond their control, from family troubles to a lack of opportunity. There’s the ex con who can’t get a job the middle-class guy who’s derided for “acting white ” the athlete who is discarded by his team after his knees give out the shopper who is followed around by suspicious salesclerks the boy whose mother was impregnated by a rapist the sexual lothario and the son raised without a dad. ![]() One by one, each takes center stage to expound on the indignities he’s faced, sometimes at the hands of white people and sometimes from within the Black community itself. Scott’s Thoughts of a Colored Man on a Day When the Sun Set Too Early. Part of the 2015 Frigid New York FestivalīOTTOM LINE: The many ways that racism impacts young African American men makes this an important, if not fully realized, production.įive men embody eight archetypes – Anger, Depression, Despair, Happiness, Love, Lust, Passion, and Wisdom – in Keenan M. Thoughts of a Colored Man on a Day When the Sun Set Too Early
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