hip-hop

GHDT finishes season strong; watch for more

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By John Lyle Belden

This evening (June 7) Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre concludes its 27th season with bold works for “Summer Solstice.”

According to my quick websearch, earth.com notes the Solstice (longest day of the year, coming in just two weeks) is celebrated by many spiritual traditions, important for “setting an intention” for the coming months. With this weekend’s program, Gregory Glade Hancock and his talented dancers show their continued willingness to expand the use of movement to communicate feelings and stories.

In the world-premiere of “Let It Be Known,” poet Bruce Ford delivers a long monologue of hip-hop style verse that speaks to struggle and aspiration that draws on his Black experience and hope for humanity. As he speaks, dancers Thomas Mason, Sophie Jones, Abigail Lessaris, Josie Moody, Cordelia Newton, Olivia Payton, and Audrey Springer reflect and illuminate his words. Together, they make the “music” that we feel – no background song is played or necessary. Ryan Koharchik’s exceptional (as always) lighting design comes into play here with precise use of spotlights.

Another premiere is “Journey to Freedom,” a series of dances evoking the pain of a nation’s people being invaded, occupied, and displaced, as well as their bravery to overcome. The focus is on Eastern Europe, which Hancock is personally familiar with, including recent travels. The pieces honor Latvia, where residents once kept a secret “national anthem;” Poland, once invaded on two fronts attempting to erase if from the map; and, Ukraine, where their struggle continues today. The movement is strong and evocative, to music ranging from traditional to contemporary, as well as sublime work by Polish composer Frederic Chopin (a beautiful solo by Moody). The principal dancers are joined by summer interns Nathalie Boyle, Gwynevere Deterding, Tasha Sterns-Clemons, and Izzy Wolf, with Academy of GHDT student Hazel Moore appearing as the “flower girl.”

After the intermission, the mood shifts from the very serious to the exceedingly strange with an abridged version of Hancock’s 2006 “Alice and Her Bizarre Adventures in Wonderland,” envisioning Lewis Carrol’s classic story through a warped punk-Goth lens – as if to wonder, what would frighten yet enthrall a young girl today? Springer is our title character, bringing us with her down the rabbit hole to meet a fascinating edging on nightmarish cast. Highlights include Payton as the Cheshire Cat, Mason as the Caterpillar, Lessaris as the Duchess, Newton as the Mouse, Moody as Queen of Hearts, and Jones as the Mock Turtle. All the dancers are in Wonderland, including students Moore, Fiadh Flynn, Penelope Lomax, Josie Steinmetz, and Megan Webb.

As for the dance sequences, Hancock said he was once asked, “if you choreograph this while awake, what are your nightmares like?” It says something about our tastes, I guess, but we were thrilled, with Wendy hoping to see the full show staged again someday.

What we know will happen is the upcoming 28th season. It kicks off with the “Fashion at the Florence” fundraiser on Sept. 13 at 329 Gradle Drive, Carmel. Dance programs feature the return of “The Casket Girls” in October, “Exodus” in March 2026 and “Antony and Cleopatra” the following June. There will also be “Melange” presentations of improvised dance and art with guest vocalists the weekends of Sept. 20 and Nov. 15, as well as March 14 and May 16, 2026.

For all the details – and tickets to today’s 5 p.m. performance at The Tarkington stage of the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, if you see this right after it’s posted – visit gregoryhancockdancetheatre.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.

The beats of a different Shakespeare

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King Richard III (top) literally holds the throne as “Ricky 3” comes out of Intermission.

By John Lyle Belden

It’s a theme as old as theatre: An ambitious ruler steps on so many people on his way up, that those who aren’t killed make sure he has nothing on the way down, not even a horse. As William Shakespeare wrote such a history of England’s King Richard III, the Tudor lineage that violently dethroned him was in charge. So, no gray area with this character; our central figure not only acts as a villain but gleefully describes himself as one. As for everyone else? Lessons on power, complacency and misplaced trust abound, making this – like much of the Bard’s catalogue – a feature on stages again and again.

Now, we meet the ruthless monarch in “Ricky 3: A Hip Hop Shakespeare Richard III,” presented outdoors by Indianapolis Shakespeare Company, which evolved from the former Heartland Actors Repertory Theatre that held annual Shakespeare in the Park productions.

“IndyShakes” Artistic Director Ryan Artzberger (a familiar face from numerous productions around Indy, including the IRT’s annual “Christmas Carol”) drew from his appreciation of the rhythms of both Shakespeare and Hip-Hop in working with local creatives including Nigel Long, Geechie, and director Mikael Burke, as the long drama was carefully trimmed, then the text’s beats and rhymes matched to carefully curated DJ grooves.

Comparisons to “Hamilton” are unavoidable, but this is not a musical. The flow and beat emphasize the poetry, as well as the nuances of the plot, making the show relatively easy to follow, despite most actors playing various roles. Artzberger notes this is not an “adaptation;” he took care that nearly every line is Shakespeare’s. It is not completely rapped-through, which I found intriguing. Still, I feel that, as a first venture into this melding, it leans more towards respecting the arts going into it than indulging what could be seen as a gimmick.

The classic beauty of the spacious Taggart Memorial Amphitheatre in Riverside Park is juxtaposed by a simple but effective stage design by Sydney Lynn Thomas: a simple metal frame holds the Throne on high, surrounded by black cases that would hold its pieces at breakdown, hinting at the here-today/gone-tomorrow nature of the royals’ reigns. This puts the visual focus on subtle (except moments when it isn’t) and effective lighting by Laura Glover, and the exquisite costumes by Tonie Smith, effectively blending the styles of Africa, Shakespeare-era England, and today’s Urban culture.

I don’t know who Shawnte P. Gaston tapped into to portray Richard, but I don’t want to be that person’s enemy. Imagine the worst anyone lied to your face, manipulated you, had you believing things aren’t as they are, used you for favors and discarded you – all with a big smile – and add the willingness to pay people to poke swords into you. It’s the positive empowered Black woman corrupted in the most tragic manner, and Gaston relishes the ride the whole way. Note that she seems to be this 21st-century female archetype portraying the 15th-century male Duke of Gloucester. The “deformity” of Richard is an allusion to the way a current woman of color may feel disrespected, discarded and ignored.

The rest of the company – LaKesha Lorene, Akili Ni Mali, Chinyelu Mwaafrika, Eric D. Saunders, Kerrington Shorter, Manon Voice, Milicent Wright, and young Quintin Gildon Jr. as the ghost of a murdered prince – acquit themselves very well in various roles. Wright’s powerful speeches as mad ex-queen Margaret sparked spontaneous applause.  

This unique cultural experience is worth your time and the effort to find it at 2441 N. White River Parkway E. Drive, Indianapolis (or north on East Riverside from 16th Street east of the White River, turn left at the park), and no cost at all to attend, though all are required to set up free tickets at indyshakes.com. See the site for details. Performances are Thursday through Saturday, July 28-30, at 8 p.m.

Fonseca returns with reflection of our ongoing racial struggle

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By John Lyle Belden

Current and recent events compelled Fonseca Theatre Company to stage “Hype Man: A Break Beat Play” as its first production while live theatre starts to return to central Indiana. But more telling of the persistent seriousness of its issues is that this drama by Idris Goodwin was written over two years ago.

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From left, Aaron “Gritty” Grinter, Grant Byrne, and Paige Neely in the Fonseca Theatre Company production of “Hype Man: A Break Beat Play”

In a large, racially diverse, American city, in a time not long before 2020, up-and-coming white rapper Pinnacle and his Black hype man Verb wait on the creator of their beats, Peep One, to arrive at the studio so they can rehearse for their appearance on the Tonight Show. She enters, telling them she was delayed by traffic around a police chase. Minutes later, social media alerts give the full story: An unarmed black teen was killed, shot 18 times by cops while attempting to surrender.

The show must go on, as Pinnacle is focused on his national TV debut and upcoming tour, but as his hip-hop hit, “The Boy Shine,” gets its ovation, Verb makes a gesture for racial justice that throws their lives into chaos.

Local recording artist Grant Byrne plays Pinnacle, “born between a rock and a Glock,” blind to the fact that despite the disrespect he gets from uptown whites, his fair skin gives him a veil of privilege – and as a member of the hip-hop community, responsibility. Byrne manages to keep him likable, but driven and too focused on his “brand,” needing to learn to get out of his own ego and his fear of getting bogged down by serious issues like injustice. Still, his stage style is tight, as, with a wry smile, he spins Goodwin’s rhymes like they’re his own.

Local entertainer and the show’s music director Aaron “Gritty” Grinter is Verb, Pinnacle’s childhood best friend and long-time collaborator. The most complex character, his TV moment was to be a personal comeback, after past (unspecified) incidents had him in court-ordered therapy. The young man’s shooting affects him deeply, “I was that kid so many times!” Grinter is well-suited to the role, a natural motivator channeling the fire awakened within the Hype Man.

Indy native Paige Neely is Peep One, who tries to walk the middle path between the others’ bold personalities. Having been adopted by an apparently middle-class family (likely white), she doesn’t deny her blackness but identifies mostly as a woman in hip-hop, which is struggle enough. She understands Pinnacle’s fixation on the business of showbiz, but knows what Verb wants to accomplish is even more vital. Neely makes her more three-dimensional than the script seems to suggest, ably going from referee to friend, to a girl with her own mind and dreams, as the story demands.

This play is the directing debut of Daniel A. Martin, who is experienced with more comic fare, but as (among other things) an improv artist, does well with a trio in a very collaborative, sharing environment. The drama feels as real as the latest TV and online news, and though the death described is fictional, it has occurred in one form or another numerous times (including here in Indianapolis). The play doesn’t exploit, make light of, or preach on the issues, but helps to continue our local and national conversation.

In consideration of the ever-present health issues, FTC producing directors Bryan Fonseca and Jordan Flores Schwartz, and company staff, are taking the Covid-19 threat seriously. The stage (excellently designed by Daniel Uhde) is outdoors, behind the Basile Building, 2508 W. Michigan St., with plenty of parking at the adjacent park. There is appropriately-spaced seating, hand sanitizer handy, and all (except for actors while acting) are required to wear face masks (this was policy before the Mayor made it mandatory countywide). Local artist Kathryn Rodenbach made and donated some nice cloth masks, which can be picked up for a donation of whatever you want to give.

“Hype Man” runs through July 26. Get details and tickets at fonsecatheatre.org. To delve deeper into the issues of the play, Fonseca added this page as well.

DivaFest: An odd Irish ‘three men and a baby’

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This is part of the 2019 Diva Fest, presented by IndyFringe at 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis, through April 21. All shows are by women playwrights, presented as one-hour one-acts at a Fringe price. For information and tickets, see www.indyfringe.org.

By John Lyle Belden

Kate Duffy Sim once again blesses us with a brilliant parody of the British sitcom, “Father Ted,” which relates the quirky lives of priests living on a remote island off the Irish coast.

This time, in “Who’s Minding the Snapper,” Father Ned and company are visited by a very pregnant American woman. The baby quickly arrives, but the mother disappears — can Ned, dimwitted Father Dermott and drunken Father Finn successfully care for the little “snapper”?

Presented by Clerical Error Productions and directed by David Malloy, the surreal atmosphere and comic potential are enhanced by “cross-gender casting,” as the program put it. Sim ably plays Ned, while Bridget Schlebecker is a hoot as Finn. Kyrsten Lyster is outstanding as Dermott, displaying deft skill at the hard task of playing a “stupid” character so cleverly. Manny Casillas charms as the housekeeper Mrs. O’Boyle, while Anthony Logan Nathan is something to behold as brash, devious Mrs. McShane, who tends the home of a rival priest.

Case Jacobus is the “girl in trouble,” while actual rapper Nate Burner plays her rap-star boyfriend. “N8” also performs the opening theme, and spun some rhymes at curtain call to introduce the cast.

Hilarious with the right amount of heart, you’ll need to do penance if you miss this one. Performances are 8:30 p.m. Saturday and 5:30 p.m. Sunday (April 20-21).

IndyFringe: Harrison!

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By Wendy Carson

Hip-hop musicals are all the rage currently. However, acquiring tickets to them is nearly impossible. Currently, you have the chance to see a hilarious improv version of one dripping in Hoosier history.

When you get your ticket you are given a slip of paper prompting you to list a book, musical, TV show, movie, or fairy tale. These suggestions are put in a hat and one is given to each actor prior to the show. They use these as touchstones for their individual characters’ dialogue and motivations during the show. As an example, the actor portraying William Henry Harrison – the general-turned-President of the title – was given “Cinderella” and his “Bobbity Boo-ing” of others during the show was very inflammatory.

Expect dance battles, rap battles, and some twisted historical events intertwining to some epic beats. While the show is ever-changing and never too serious, the final song echoes a strong truth that should be noted: “History forgets, but Death remembers!”

Performances are Saturday and Sunday afternoons, Aug. 27 and 28 at the Indyfringe Basile Theatre. Get info and tickets at indyfringefestival.com.

 

Fringe review: The Wizer of Odd

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By John Lyle Belden

“The Wizer of Odd,” performed by Gift of Gab productions at Firefighters’ Union Hall, is an interesting modern take on the classic movie (based on the works of L. Frank Baum). Set in the modern day, our young woman is aware of the Oz story, but not that she’s living it. She doesn’t listen to the wisdom of her “scarecrow” friend, tramples the heart of the “Tinman” she encounters and misunderstands the courage of the “lion” who tries to help her. When she finally finds Oz, he does not provide the happy ending she is looking for.

The best aspect of this fable is that, instead of song-and-dance breaks, we get well-crafted hip-hop poetry, very well delivered by a talented local cast. Hopefully this show will return as one of the performances the IndyFringe stages host throughout the year.