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Review: Jordan E. Cooper’s Scathing Comedy Ain’t No Mo’ Imagines a Black Migration to Africa

A review of Ain’t No Mo’ by Pete Hempstead | December 6, 2022

We feel the threat of it everywhere though: in the voice of the reality TV director’s booming voice from above (sound design by Jonathan Deans and Taylor Williams), in the threat of a fantastical machine that will turn Black people white if they refuse to leave the country, and in the crushing darkness of the play’s final moments (Adam Honoré’s lighting is used to devastating effect). That can be an unpleasant sensation for the white folks in the audience, but then again, understanding often begins with discomfort. None of us gets a free ticket out.

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‘A Beautiful Noise’ Serves Cheap Thrills but No Drama

Juan Michael Porter II | December 4, 2022

Using therapy as the framing for a musical play is a theatrical cheat. In such instances, rather than develop nuanced motivations or put effort into finessing a resolution, playwrights telegraph that their characters are working through trauma and are to be forgiven for anything they do or say―no matter how boring or formulaic. And so […]

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If the Refreshing ‘KPOP’ is the Future of Broadway, Consider Me a Stan

Juan Michael Porter II | November 27, 2022

Against all expectations for a behind-the-scenes musical drama, KPOP’s storytelling is as sophisticated as its high-octane performances. Though the newly-opened Broadway musical at Circle in the Square Theater was a hit during its pre-pandemic run at Ars Nova, I was prepared to hate-watch it. Why? Because I wince whenever I hear the cheesy bops of […]

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