The Hot Wing King

B-

For the third and final play of her Signature Theatre residency, Katori Hall (Hurt Village, Our Lady of Kibeho) has gone in a surprising direction: she has written a play about six black men in Memphis, of whom four are gay. It’s not often that we get a look at a loving relationship between black gay men and all the more surprising that it took a woman to provide it. The action is set in the cozy home of Dwayne (Korey Jackson; Far from Heaven), manager of a Memphis hotel. His lover Cordell (Toussaint Jeanlouis; but i cd only whisper) and their friends Isom (Sheldon Best; Sugar in Our Wounds) and Big Charles (Nicco Annan) are the other members of the New Wing Order team, who are competing in the annual hot wing contest. Cordell is the genius whose exotic wings recipes the others love to taste. We learn that Cordell is in the process of divorcing his wife who lives in St. Louis with their two college-age sons. He only moved in with Dwayne a few months ago. Big Charles owns the barber shop where Dwayne and Cordell met. I never did figure out how the flamboyant Isom fit into the group. We also meet Dwayne’s brother-in-law TJ (Eric B. Robinson Jr.), a petty crook who is doing a poor job of raising his teenage son EJ (Cecil Blutcher; Showtime Blues) after his wife’s death. Dwayne would like to take EJ in, but Cordell, guilty over abandoning his own sons, doesn’t want to raise someone else’s. Although there are serious moments, humor prevails. I was frustrated that many lines that drew laughs from black members of the audience sailed right by me. The actors work well together, especially in a couple of slapstick scenes. The resolution of the hot wing contest is a bit anticlimactic, but as a group portrait, this lively play succeeds. Michael Canahan’s (Skeleton Crew, The Piano Lesson) set, which consists of a cross-section of Dwayne’s house, looks lived in. Emilio Sosa’s (On Your Feet!, Make Believe) costumes befit their characters. Steve H. Broadnax III’s (Travisville) direction is assured. Running time: two hours 30 minutes including intermission.

Our Lady of Kibeho ***

Playwright Katori Hall’s residency at Signature Theatre resumes with this theatrically engrossing play based on actual events in Rwanda in the early 1980’s when three young women at a Catholic school claimed to have visions of Mary. As the play opens, Father Tuyishime (Owiso Odera),a young handsome priest and Sister Evangelique (Starla Benford), an older martinet nun in charge of the students — two stock characters who could be right out of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt — are arguing about what to do with 17-year-old Alphonsine (Nneka Okafor), the first to claim to see the Virgin. The priest secretly hopes the apparitions are real while the nun wants to stamp out attention-seeking nonsense. When another student, Anathalie (Mandi Masden), begins to see the visions, Sister Evangelique enlists Marie-Claire (Joaquina Kalukango), the eldest student and a bit of a bully, to interfere should there be other apparitions. Marie-Claire too sees the Virgin in the gripping scene with gasp-inducing special effects that concludes the first act. When word gets out about the visions, the long absent Bishop Gahamanyi (Brent Jennings) shows up and threatens to close the school if the rumors are not contained. Eventually the Vatican sends Father Flavia (T. Ryder Smith) to investigate. The manner in which he tests the girls is barbaric. As the visions come to be accepted, there is much shifting of positions among those who at first belittled the visions and those who supported them. Some are motivated by crass economic considerations, others by faith. But few are able to accept the warning of a coming bloodbath the apparitions portend. In restricting herself to the immediate period of the visions, Hall does not supply much context for what happens. The audience is expected to know in advance about the tribal rivalries between Hutu and Tutsi and the massacres that took place in Rwanda a decade later. That narrowing of focus may rob the play of a bit of its import but not of its theatricality. Rachel Hauck’s modular set is attractive and efficient. Peter Nigrini’s evocative projections add much to the atmosphere. Greg Meeh and Paul Rubin create some marvelous effects. Emily Rebholz’s costumes are very good. Director Michael Greif keeps things moving. One word of caution: a walkway that bisects the theater between rows F and G is used for part of the action, particularly in the second act. If your seat is in Rows A-F, you either will miss some of the action or twist your neck trying not to. Running time: 2 hours 35 minutes including intermission.

Hurt Village **

(Please click on the title to see the entire review.)
Katori Hall's new play at Signature Theatre about a family from the projects in North Memphis is a mixed bag. On the plus side, the play has great vitality and sharp characterizations by an excellent cast. On the other hand, every 4th word is the N word, the conversations are often extremely obscene, and much of the rapping was beyond my comprehension. I was strongly tempted to leave at intermission (as a handful of people did). Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you won't find this sad tale of how people get trapped in poverty surprising. I especially liked Joaquina Kalukango as Cookie, the 13-year old girl who is the focus of the play. Tonya Pinkins is powerful as her grandmother, the only working member of the family. Marsha Stephanie Blake makes a strong impression as her mother Crank, a recovered crack addict, as does Corey Hawkins as Buggy, her long-absent father, just returned from the war in Iraq. David Gallo's set and Clint Ramos' costumes serve the play well. Patricia McGregor directed. At 2 hours 40 minutes, the play could definitely use some trimming.

A few comments about the Signature Center:

With two plays now running, all the seats in the cafe and the rest of the lobby were taken. It will be interesting to see how crowded it will get when the third theater opens.

The configuration of the Linney Theatre for Hurt Village allows seating access from only one side, making it necessary to climb over as many as 12 people to get to your seat. Neither the Linney nor the Griffin Theater has any shield to prevent bright light from the lobby from flooding the theater if anyone exits during the play. I hope these kinks can be ironed out.