By John Lyle Belden

Indianapolis Black Theater Company presents the powerful drama, “Kiladelphia,” written and directed by DP Demarco.

He makes clear that this is not just a ‘hood in Pennsylvania, but a place found in cities large and small throughout America, plagued by street crime, drugs, and violence.  Throughout the play we see a memorial to a six-year-old girl at the place she was killed by a stray bullet. However, though it struggles, there is also hope here – and faith.

Neighbors Shawaakaatima and Ms. Jordan (Dena L. Toler and Da’Keisha Bryant) are visibly shook by the child’s death, while dealing with the growing independence of their own kids. Shawaakaatima’s son Jabarie (John Singleton) is doing well at the local college. Meanwhile, Teresa Jordan (Raniyah Bannon) is a good teen, however her friends include Shay Shay (Ayshah Matthews), a girl with big attitude and questionable character, and Taylor (Anaiah), who is nice, smart, and the younger sister of Q (Joshua Bruton), the second-in-command to gang leader Jamelle (LA).

The criminal element also includes Kima (Shenita Golder), Bones (Mahogani Johnson), and Malik (David Adams). Atiyyah Radford plays Derrick, Jabarie’s friend, as well as “Clean” – a street character who is anything but.  Jodi Holmes appears as a local police detective and the grieving mother of the little girl.

Jamelle is handsome and charismatic, with hundred-dollar bills peeking out of his pockets. And what he lacks in empathy he more than makes up in the drugs he sells. He sends away his addicted mother, Wanda (Anila Akua), and later takes advantage of naïve rich girl Erica (Shaudia Carter) – both financially and physically.

Not everyone will survive these events in an unflinching look at how easily the pursuit of good times can go very badly, including for the innocent. What feels like love or respect can be a trap. This is not a musical, but we do get a wonderful rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet” sung by Singleton, background music by Matt “Big Beatz” Franklin and Byran Hobbs, and an affective arrangement of the O’Jay’s “For Love of Money.”

We also find in the women and young Teresa a tested Christian faith. Rather than deliver a simple morality play, Demarco keeps it real with Jesus’ love not always accepted but still made available for one who is truly broken.

Performances feel real – even a larger-than-life person like Shay Shay is like someone you know – and at moments engage the audience directly, alerting us that these are events that need our attention here, and out in the larger world. Demarco said he has presented this play in several cities and was struck by how, when he mounted it in West Virginia including white cast members, he sadly didn’t have to change a thing.

Find “Kiladelphia” here in Naptown for one more weekend, Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 24-27, at The District Theatre. Get tickets at indydistricttheatre.org.