Cara Wilson

Phoenix in its Xmas era

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By John Lyle Belden

That Holiday Tradition that’s an alternative to Nutcrackers or Tiny Tim or other Christmassy cliches – except perhaps to mock them – has returned to the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.

“A Very Phoenix Xmas XVII: Sleigh, Queen, Sleigh!” takes the stage with its various funny and nicely naughty short plays. This time these all-original skits all have common creators – written by director Zack Neiditch with songs by Paige Scott. They are brought to life by Suraj Choudhary, Samantha Lewis, Craig Underwood, Cara Wilson, and Christine Zavakos, who also each give a disturbingly charming (or charmingly disturbing) “Christmas memory” in videos by Zach Rosing.

The various pieces are presented in historical order from past to present, starting with a breaking TV news report from Roman Palestine. A more historically accurate approach is taken in a hilarious look at Christmas in Renaissance-era England. As for the Victorian era, Marley’s still dead. In the 20th century, things really get strange. With more recent decades, be sure to “like and subscribe.”

Note this isn’t all-ages. Mature content includes f-bombs and middle fingers, but no outright blasphemy. Think of it as SNL with HBO standards.

The ensemble work very well together, with most of them interacting in nearly every scene. Neiditch’s knack for comedy and Scott’s for a catchy tune give them plenty to work with.

If this kind of humor fits your stocking, you’ll find it very entertaining with familiar themes taken on like nobody else.  

“A Very Phoenix Xmas” runs through Dec. 21 at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at phoenixtheatre.org.

A hard look at America as its victims depart

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By John Lyle Belden

“Ain’t No Mo’” is likely the most funny yet challenging piece of theatre you will see this year.

Written by Jordan E. Cooper, who led performances on Broadway, and now presented by Indianapolis Black Theater Company at the District Theatre, directed by Jamaal McCray, this satire feels like what would happen if the TV show “In Living Color” came back today with total freedom to say what its African American writers really think.

The central player is Peaches (Daren J. Fleming) a drag queen airline agent for the last flight out in a project to relocate all Blacks in the United States back to Africa – the diaspora in reverse, departing from gate 1619.

However, first we get a rousing “funeral” scene which leans into the now-tattered myth that somehow all racism in America stopped with the 2008 election of Barack Obama. This introduces the company, who take on various roles and are referred to in the program as Passengers: Chandra, Clarissa Todd, Cara Wilson, Avery Elise, and Reno Moore, who in this scene plays the exuberant minister declaring that the word/concept of “‘N!&&a’ is our slave!” After what turns out to be an inoculation of spirited repetition of the word in this bit, you’ll hear it a lot throughout the show.     

This is an intense tour-de-force for all involved, with each actor taking their moments to shine.

Chandra keeps the pathos in a darkly comic scene at a not-really-hidden abortion clinic as with the only options for a Black child being prison or early violent death, terminating pregnancy is a mercy – even if one must wait in a line of millions to get it. Still, if only her murdered husband (Moore) saw it that way…

Todd delivers as one of the women (“B!tch, we all hoes!”) in a recording of “Real Baby Mamas of the Southside.” While they all delight in their gold-digger lifestyle, she takes up more of the attention, especially when she is called out for “living my truth” in a scene that simultaneously skewers reality TV, Black stereotype, cultural appropriation, and playing the victim.

In the most hilarious scene (and most reminiscent of an “ILC” skit), Wilson is an unstoppable delight as the essence of “Black” returning literally from her chains to an absurdly bougie family who insist they replaced their skin tone with “green.”

Elise gives a vicious tug to our heartstrings as a hardened prisoner about to be released so she can take that flight to Africa. Something she had with her when incarcerated is missing.

Between scenes, and at final boarding, we get moments with Peaches with her no-nonsense attitude and compassion that does get tested at times.

The production is supplemented with complementing and contrasting visuals provided by CèAira Waymon, as well as audio breaks of recorded lectures noting how Black culture has been turned in against itself to the delight of White supremacists. 

If something about this show does not bother you, you aren’t paying attention. And yet, you really should see this, at least to help understand if not ease the viral contagion of racial politics that permeates the current atmosphere. (As I write this, there is another news bulletin about attacks on DEI programs.)

“Ain’t No Mo’” has performances through July 6 at the District Theatre, 627 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis. Get tickets at indydistricttheatre.org.

The wisdom of ‘Wizer’

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By John Lyle Belden

“The Wizer of Odds,” written and directed by local playwright Gabrielle Patterson, stands apart from most adaptations of the classic “Wizard of Oz” story by L. Frank Baum, best known from the 1939 MGM film. Rather than try to directly recreate the plot and characters (like in “The Wiz”) this non-musical allegory takes familiar aspects of story, character, and theme to build something both familiar and fresh, timeless and modern.

We start out near Kansas where Camile (Kelly Boyd as our “Dorothy” character) longs for more than what she feels her cornfield town and living with her Gran (Patterson) can offer her. She also wishes to reconnect – or connect at all – with her mother Evelyne (Alicia Sims) who abandoned her as a baby to go live in New York City.

Camile sets out on a road trip for the Big Apple, bringing along best friends Tiny (Cara Wilson) and Stephanie (Ja’Taun Tiara). First, she says goodbye to long-time friend Thomas (Jericho Franke), whose confession of love does nothing to stop her.

On the road, car trouble brings the girls to the shop of Ray Tinman (Bryan Ball), a memorable encounter but Camile doesn’t think much of the man in the oil-stained clothes.

Finally in New York, Evelyn isn’t as welcoming a host as they had hoped. She cares little for reconnecting and just wants to take Camile and her friends out to the hottest club – The Flying Monkey. The evening gets off to a rough start as Camile feels the doorman Leon (Richard Bowman) isn’t aggressive enough in repelling the advances of an obnoxious man (Lamont Golder). At the club, we encounter the charismatic Oz (Chris Shields), who may be just what our heroine is looking for – but how wise is that choice?

Though not a musical, we get brilliant soliloquies in hip-hop poetry for nearly all characters to elaborate how they feel. The straw-colored man, the one who works with machines, and the presumed coward each state their case for how manhood and one’s value are not just what a person presumes, and are worth a better look.

In our three generations we get women who are each intriguing in their own way. Boyd as Camile is smart and likable, but has her gaze too far over the rainbow to see what is at hand, to her own peril. Patterson’s Gran, who also goes by Glinda, has a great deal of wisdom, enough to know she can’t force a willful girl to listen, and to be there with kindness when the lessons are learned. As for Sims as Evelyn, she is a study in dysfunction and self-centeredness – still, as Wendy pointed out, the sight of her “party” outfit may be worth the ticket price alone.

So many good performances in this show. Wilson presents a sweetly true companion (Patterson told me Tiny, like Steph, are analogous to the Munchkins, but I see faithful aspects of Toto too), while Tiara gives us that fashion-obsessed pal who will still drop that designer bag to join you in a fight. Ball easily radiates strength in his roles, and his Tin Man is sturdy. Shields, as Oz, smoothly gives us that outwardly noble man who can go from kissing your cheek to slapping it in a dark instant. Bowman – like the other men, playing more than one role – has the most contrast between his characters. His initial appearance cuts the line between funny and creepy so thin it’s barely visible; however, his lion roars with one of the bravest spoken passages. Franke is charming as Thomas, a man who (like his archetype) is smarter than he looks.  

An entertaining story salted with some hints and Easter eggs for traditional “Oz” fans, with that reliable lesson that there’s no place like home, “The Wizer of Odd” has two more weekends, April 4-6 and 11-13, at IF Theatre (home of IndyFringe), 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis. Get tickets at indyfringe.org.

NAATC: A legacy worth fighting for

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By John Lyle Belden

Naptown African American Theatre Collective, Indy’s first Black Equity stage company, continues to bring us stories that are both the Black Experience and our human experience.

The theme for its 2024-25 season is Cementing Our Legacy, which can mean different things to different individuals, even within the same family. “Judy’s Life’s Work” by Loy A. Webb, presented by NAATC at the Phoenix Theatre cultural Centre, is a hard-hitting example of this.

Xavier (Xavier Jones) rose up from hardship to become a boxing champion. Time in prison convinced him of the importance of education, so now he runs his own gym and offers free tutoring for neighborhood kids, which has him on the ropes financially. As luck would have it, his new uptown girlfriend, Camille (Selena Jackson-King) has a way to keep the place solvent and run it as a not-for-profit. He just needs one thing, which he has to get from his sister, Charli (Cara Wilson).

It turns out that this simple story has so many layers. The macguffin of the plot is a notebook belonging to Camille and X’s mother, Judy, who had recently passed away. She was a leading biological researcher who had kept her work to herself, wary of the motives of others – especially Duffy Pharmaceuticals, located in their city.

Word had gotten out that Judy had made a revolutionary breakthrough shortly before her final battle with cancer. Charli had worked closely with her Mom and keeps the notes hidden; X, who is years older, had been given up by his mother for adoption, landing him in a hellish foster system. As he sees it, Duffy can continue the breakthroughs while giving him the funds to keep his community-minded project alive. Win-win, right? As for Camille, we soon see she is motivated by something more than love for a down-and-out former Champ.

The gloves are on, the bell is rung. Who will still stand when this round is done?

Jones is commanding in his role, with all the cocky bluster of a young Will Smith. His feelings run deep, both in affection for his sister and bitter resentment of his mother. He carries himself as one who has been knocked down plenty – in and out of the ring – yet still managed to find a way to stand again. Wilson cleverly plays Charli with a look and manner that seems to scream “adorable little sister” while displaying a sharp intellect in fighting condition for this battle of wills. Jackson-King ably portrays the conflicted heiress caught up in a high-stakes challenge.

How do we define one’s “life’s work” and its value? With little surprises all the way to the end, this examination of one’s legacy keeps us engaged throughout. The director is Philadelphia-based award-winning multidisciplinary artist Angela Bey, who was drawn to Naptown by her love of Webb’s plays and is impressed with what NAATC is doing. “There’s nothing like this in Philly,” she said on opening night.

The opening also featured the Hip-Hop Legacy Cypher, a spoken word battle with poets Manòn Voice and Tony Styxx. Consider us all knocked out by the power of their truths. This isn’t a regular feature, NAATC producing director Lakesha Lorene said, but something like this could come around at their next show opening.

“Judy’s Life’s Work” continues through Nov. 3 at the Phoenix, 705 N. Illinois, downtown Indianapolis. For information, see naatcinc.org; for tickets, go to phoenixtheatre.org.

FTC presents genuinely haunting tale

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By John Lyle Belden

And now, a dark comedy in which characters are often plunged into darkness.

“A Skeptic and a Bruja,” the play by Rosa Fernandez presented by Fonseca Theatre Company, is also the title of a paranormal podcast by three women of color: Jess (Arëe Lyn) is the Bruja (Spanish for “witch,” that in this case references a particular spiritual practice); Sam (Cara Wilson) is the skeptic, compulsively seeking a logical explanation for anything that happens; and Remy (Yolanda Valdivia) handles all the tech, making audio and video recordings of the other two as well as setting up a/v equipment to detect and record anything weird.

They have come to investigate an old house being converted into a bed-and-breakfast by professional chef Pricilla (Chandra Lynch). Before the podcasters arrive, we already hear the thumps and see a door open itself. But, of course, all is quiet when the investigators arrive. Sam openly wonders if this will be worth their time, while Jess sees it as at worst a free stay at a quaint B&B with gourmet meals. They are fascinated by the upstairs room full of creepy dolls, though.

Soon enough, the entities in the house make themselves known, taking advantage of the fears and regrets each of the women were already afraid to confront, especially for Remy, who just recently lost her mother.

Directed by FTC Producing Director Jordan Flores Schwartz, the play effectively grows tension from laughs to chills as circumstances grow more serious. Well-executed startling effects are employed, including sounds, visuals, and falling objects, aided by the work of light and sound designer Ben Dobler.

Our foursome play these scenes with zero camp. Lynch has Pricilla already inclined to think she’s haunted by her partner who died of cancer a year earlier. Wilson expresses Sam dealing with her mask of rationality rapidly fraying. Lyn gives Jess the centered calm of a woman who has seen ghostly entities her entire life, only growing concerned when her guardian spirit makes an abrupt exit. Valdivia takes on the complexity of Remy’s being the target of the house’s unseen residents, coupled with reconciling the fraught relationship she had with her Mom.

You could look at this as a cool telling of a ghost tale somewhere between “Scooby-doo” and “The Conjuring” films, or, as an unconventional story of women finding their inner strength to deal with the regular-world grief that haunts them (and eventually, all of us). I think it’s both. Regardless, this haunted house is worth a visit.

“A Skeptic and a Brujah” plays through July 28 at 2508 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis. For info and tickets, visit fonsecatheatre.org.

Drama at District a raw look at recovery

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By John Lyle Belden

Ever had a “toxic” relationship? How about literally toxic.

“Drugs and alcohol have never let me down. They have always loved me.”

These are the words of Emma, a struggling actress at the center of “People, Places & Things” by Duncan Macmillan (writer of “Every Brilliant Thing”) which had a successful London premiere in 2015. Stage Door Productions brings it to Indianapolis, nurtured and directed by Kevin Caraher, playing at The District Theatre on Mass Ave.

Emma (Trick Blanchfield), scarred by traumas of which we will learn, whole-heartedly believes her statement above, but comes to suspect the chemicals’ love is destroying her. To quote an unrelated work, breaking up is hard to do.

She prefers to live in the masks of the characters she portrays, but they are starting to blur into one another. The play opens with her on the stage of a classic work, having a dissociative episode. When she inevitably checks into rehab, she claims the name of the character she plays. During her recovery and relapses, she is accompanied by shadows of herself (Sara Williams, Audrey Stonerock, Cara Wilson).

Thus, the central point-of-view character is also an unreliable narrator, bringing to bear one of the frustrating factors of recovery. Even when the person wants to change and craves help, lying has become as natural as breathing, especially to one’s self. Macmillan’s words effectively keep the audience following the plot off-balance: Is Emma’s brother dead, as she says, and which set of circumstances she relates are true? Do the no-nonsense Nurse at the rehab center and happy-shiny Therapist for group sessions actually look like her Mom (all played pitch-perfect by Denise Jaeckel)? Are her parents as deeply flawed and toxic in their own way as she claims? Is even her name what she says it is at any point?

Emma’s love of stagecraft becomes a vector for hard lessons as other members of Group use her as their sounding-board for “exercises” in what each recovering addict will say to a significant person in their lives. Mark (Ryan Powell in an award-worthy performance), who immediately sees through her BS, gets that ball rolling, and continues to challenge her throughout the play. He has gained wisdom the hard way, including understanding without mentioning it that any (if this were Hollywood) romantic connection would just be the chemicals and desperation talking. (Thank you, Mr. Macmillan, for dodging that trope.)  

Other members of Group, played by Tailynn Downing, Anna Himes, Matt Kraft, David Molloy, Adrienne Reiswerg, and Bryan Ball Carvajal (as Foster, past patient and present staffer) each have their own perspective of addiction, relating the various paths both the downward spiral and upward climb can take. Then there’s brave, brilliant Dan Flahive as Paul, the patient who takes things too far, whose higher power is apparently a schizophrenic Jesus. What could be, and to a small extent is, played as comic relief becomes a look into the abyss any staffer or past patient of such a facility has seen too often.

Still, in contrast to Emma, the others “get it,” the reason why they are there, that they are sick and desire to truly get well.

Some might see thematic similarities to the 2000 recovery rom-com film, “28 Days,” starring Sandra Bulloch, but this story has a lot more raw, authentic-feeling edges and is better played through the style and magical realism of live theatre. It reflects the real-world fact that one visit to an institution is rarely enough. Also, know that not all its characters will be alive at the end of the play.

Saving the best for last, I’ll note that Blanchfield is truly outstanding. She draws on wells of pain and strength like few can, while somehow getting some hope in that bucket. She communicates “hot mess” while still making us want to root for her. We are blessed beyond reason to have her recently join the central Indiana theatre scene.

In a lighter note (and there are a few) we do get to see an actor nearly naked – and it’s not who you might expect (consider yourself warned).

A huge thank you to Caraher for getting this masterpiece to Indy, and executing it so well, and hat-tip to stage managers Whitney Leigh and Amelie Zirnheld. While this has a simple set, by Kathy Hoefgen, it is notable for the visual metaphor that the “EXIT,” whether triumphant or tragic, is always there.

Performances continue tonight (as I post this), Sunday, and next weekend with two shows on Saturday, through June 25. For tickets, visit indydistricttheatre.org. (Note to Googlers: There is a Stage Door Productions in Virginia, so for the Indiana company, look up their Facebook page.)