The Rolling Stone

B+

Lincoln Center Theater is presenting the American premiere of this gripping drama by young British playwright Chris Urch (Land of Our Fathers) that won several prizes when it was staged in the U.K. The title comes from the name of a Kampala tabloid that, in 2010, published the names, addresses and photos of 100 Ugandan men suspected of homosexuality, thereby subjecting them to vigilante mobs and long prison sentences. Denbe (Ato Blankson-Wood; Hair, Slave Play) is an 18-year old student who is carrying on a secret affair with Sam (Robert Gilbert; Julius Caesar), a mixed-race Northern Irish/Ugandan doctor who recently arrived in town. Denbe’s sister Wummie (Latoya Edwards; School Girls, Miss You Like Hell) is a year younger but in the same grade as Denbe. Both are studying for an exam to qualify for medical school. Their older brother Joe (James Udom; Miss Julie, The Winter’s Tale) has just been chosen pastor of their church after his predecessor abruptly resigned under suspicion of embezzlement. Mama (Myra Lucretia Taylor; Nine, Familiar) is a neighbor devoted to the church who lent her influence in favor of Joe's selection. She has a daughter Naome (Adenike Thomas; Freedom Train) who has mysteriously not spoken for six months and hopes that Pastor Joe can cure her. The siblings are shocked to learn that their recently deceased father left them only debts. The church cannot afford a salary for Joe until his builds up the congregation. Joe declares that one of his siblings must give up the dream of medical school to support the family. When Sam’s phone disappears and his apartment walls are defaced with anti-gay graffiti, he and Denbe go into panic mode fearing that they will be outed. Although they love their brother, Joe and Wummie have zero tolerance for homosexuality. The pace of the first act is a bit slow. There are a series of gripping confrontations in the second act that, unfortunately, lead to a rather unsatisfactory ending. The actors are very strong, especially Mr. Blankson-Wood as Denbe and Ms. Taylor as Mama. The role of Sam is underwritten, leaving his motivation a bit unclear. Arnulfo Maldonado’s (Bull in a China Shop, Sugar in Our Wounds) scenic design has a bare circular stage with a striking backdrop of wire and fabric inspired by the art of El Anatsui. Dede Ayite’s (Secret Life of Bees, Toni Stone) costumes, especially for Denbe and Mama, go a long way toward establishing the characters. Director Saheem Ali’s (Passage, Fireflies) direction is assured. It’s by no means a perfect play but the superb acting and the issues raised make it well worth seeing. Running time: one hour 55 minutes including intermission. NOTE: The play does not address the fact that the anti-homosexual campaigns in Africa have largely been fomented and financed by American evangelicals.

Here is a link to an interesting article about the playwright:

https://www.audreyjournal.com.au/arts/chris-urch-writing-the-rolling-stone/

School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play

A-

One of the hallmarks of the current season has been the proliferation of fine plays with all-female ensembles. First we had the excellent Mary Jane at New York Theatre Workshop. A revival of The Wolves is currently in previews at Lincoln Center Theater. And now MCC Theater has brought us this delightful play by Jocelyn Bioh (In the Blood; Men on Boats), marking her New York debut as playwright. Set in a girls’ boarding school in central Ghana in 1986, it introduces us to four students who are members of a clique led by mean girl Paulina Sarpong (Maameyaa Boafo) who intends to be the school’s contestant in the upcoming Miss Ghana pageant. During the early scenes, we get an amusing look at how Paulina reigns over her subjects — cousins Gitty (Paige Gilbert) and Mercy (Mirirai Sithole), the bookish Ama (Nike Kadri; The Death of the Last Black Man...) and the food-addicted Nana (Abena Mensah-Bonsu). There are hilarious examples of their misunderstanding of American culture, e.g. that White Castle is an elegant restaurant. Paulina’s plans are endangered by the arrival of a new student Ericka Boafo (Nabiyah Be; Hadestown), recently relocated from Ohio, who has looks, charm and talent to spare. The rivalry between the two girls is paralleled by the tense relationship between no-nonsense headmistress Francis (Myra Lucretia Taylor; Nine, Familiar) and the stylish Westernized pageant recruiter Eloise Amponsah (Zainab Jah; Eclipsed), herself a former Miss Ghana, who had tangled as classmates in the past. There’s a nice bonus for the recruiter and a substantial gift for the school that yields the winning contestant. Bioh overlays the well-worn conventions of teen-age cliques and beauty pageant competition with an additional ingredient: colorism — the belief even within the black community that, when it comes to skin color, lighter is better. Eloise favors Ericka over Paulina because she is the fairer and thereby "more commercial" of the two. How far will Paulina go to prevent Ericka’s selection? How far will Eloise go to thwart Paulina? Why is Paulina so mean? What secrets is Ericka hiding? Will all their efforts have any meaningful impact anyway? Has anything changed since 1986? Come, find out and be entertained. The actors are all wonderful. Director Rebecca Taichman (Indecent, Time and the Conways) has demonstrated her usual sure but deft hand. Arnulfo Maldonado’s (Charm) schoolhouse set is perfect from the perforated windows to the corrugated ceiling and tropical fans. Dede M. Ayite’s (The Royale, Bella) costumes, especially for the pageant, are delightful. Running time: one hour 12 minutes.

Familiar ***

This lively, overstuffed new play by Danai Gurira (Eclipsed) now in previews at Playwrights Horizons runs the gamut from sitcom to high drama in its two plus hours. The action takes place in real time late in the afternoon before the rehearsal dinner for the wedding of the Chinyamwira family’s 34-year-old daughter Tendi (Roslyn Ruff). Tendi and her Caucasian fiancé Chris (Joby Earle) are members of a charismatic Christian church who have vowed premarital abstinence. Tendi’s parents Donald (Harold Surratt), a successful attorney, and Marvelous (Tamara Tunie), a scientist/professor who has assimilated to American ways with a vengeance, left Zimbabwe over 30 years ago and are living the good life in a suburb of Minneapolis. Clint Ramos’s finely detailed two-level set presents a house worthy of a home design magazine, sure to evoke real estate envy in the heart of every New Yorker. Tendi’s younger sister, Nyasha (Ito Aghayere), a singer/songwriter/feng shui consultant based in New York has just returned from a trip to Zimbabwe to get in touch with her roots, but her family doesn't express much interest in her trip. Margaret (Melanie Nichols-King), Marvelous’s depressed younger sister with a drinking problem might well have wandered in from a production of “A Delicate Balance.” A crisis develops when Marvelous’s elder sister Anne (Myra Lucretia Taylor) arrives unexpectedly from Zimbabwe, determined to perform roora, an ancient bridal price ritual, over the strenuous objection of Marvelous. Sibling rivalry is strong in both generations of sisters. When he learns that the roora ceremony requires the groom to have an intermediary, Chris hurriedly recruits his slacker younger brother Brad (Joe Tippett), with hilarious results. During the second act, the mood gradually darkens and the revelation of a shocking family secret changes everything. The play’s many extremely funny moments make the darkward turn all the more unsettling. Director Rebecca Taichman has nimbly steered the actors through the change of tone. The strong ensemble acting succeeds in making the specific seem universal. Susan Hilferty's costumes contribute greatly to the production. The humanity and good humor went a long way toward making me willing to overlook some of the holes in the plot. It’s far from perfect, but well worth seeing. Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes including intermission.