Summary
An epic family drama centering on a prominent Black American political family. When the youngest son returns home with an uninvited guest, secrets are revealed, forcing the family to confront their history and faith.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 8:00 PM Mar 26, 2025, 8:00 PM
I thought it was good! Feels like an improved version of Cult of Love which just ran in the same theater. (Come to think of it, wow, those shows have a ton in common.)
I really appreciated how three-dimensional the characters were - there were reasons to cheer for everybody and reasons to scowl at them. The play really shines when it allows this very talented cast to flex all of their motivations and relationships and cognitive dissonances.
The flip side of this complexity is the second act especially feels overstuffed trying to give everybody a big moment and comment on every social issue - we’re hitting on generational trauma and shifting racial dynamics in America and prison reform and religious intolerance and neurodiversity & queer erasure and our collective COVID-era social stunting. No disputing that these are all important topics, and there is a message here about how it can be difficult to find individual purpose in life when you feel pulled in so many directions. Thematically, it just feels a little muddled, and I might have preferred to shave off one or two threads to improve the clarity of the others.
Relatedly, I wish that characters were allowed to say or do something serious without immediately undercutting it with a joke, even through the ending; the tone is consistent and it’s very funny but it robs the show of some climactic poignancy. You earned the emotional payoff! It’s okay to collect it! - I was enthralled at intermission and checking my watch by the end.
But these feel like quibbles. All in all, would love to see more like this on Broadway - rich stories, meaty dialogue, respectful of the audience’s intelligence. Easy recommend.