Jamaal McCray

Ankh gets ‘Reckless’ in a good way

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By John Lyle Belden

Indianapolis sees constant production of theatre arts by groups tied not to a place as much to ideas and creative vision. This includes – among others – No Exit, Catalyst Repertory, Q Artistry, Summit Performance, NAATC, Southbank Theatre Company, Theatre Unchained, American Lives Theatre, 4th Wall, Clerical Error Productions, Betty Rage, Cryptid Entertainment, and Defiance Comedy.

Ankh Productions deserves to be in that conversation.

Having moved on from the sadly now-closed Storefront Theatre, their neon elephant shines for the moment in the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood south of downtown Indy with Ankh’s production of “Non-Traditional Reckless Relations,” a collection of short plays by Jamaal McCray, at Lincoln Lane Coffee Co.

McCray is joined by Ankh co-founder Chandra Lynch, Zachariah Stonerock, and Anna Himes in pieces that explore with raw emotion, wild humor, and entertaining absurdity, how we relate to one another through unusual stress.

It’s too simplistic to compare this to known properties like Marx Brothers, Monty Python, SNL, or In Living Color, yet the same root is under the surface, back to the smiling Greek masks and tall tales around ancient fires. McCray says the title refers to his efforts not to slip into “traditions of mediocrity,” to take stagecraft and “strip(ed) it down to its raw essence.” As Lynch puts it in a Facebook post, “Just the art; pure, alive, unfiltered.”

High artistic goals, indeed. In “NTRR,” we see them making the climb.

This show was written by McCray as the third in a trilogy that started with “Love You Reckless,” last seen in April 2022. (He is still working on Part Two, he said.)

The foursome start with a piece heavy with avant-garde metaphor – confronting directionality, personal preferences, political groupthink, light, and more – which grabs our attention, elicits laughter while provoking thought, and gets us ready to expect practically anything.

This is followed by the next playlet, where Stonerock reads a breakup letter while using the toilet.

Yes, things get a bit crude, with R-rated language at points, but no nudity or sim-sex, so it’s okay for teens and up.

The bare-bones aesthetic, in part from low-budget necessity, concentrates our attention on the actors while employing a few simple props. A chain wrench finds an amazing array of uses.

The humor is never far from far deeper context. Exploring raw emotion and toxicity in relationships gets somehow easier when you’re battling a giant pigeon or stuck on a small boat in shallow water. When you need to fix something, at some point you’re not really talking about the thing before you that you’re repairing.

McCray, Lynch, Stonerock, and Himes all give excellent performances and interact well throughout, showing commitment to the concept and vision.

So, even if you are not planning your lover’s murder, or negotiating with the trash collector, you’ll still find plenty to relate to, and even enjoy, in these “Non-Traditional Reckless Relations.” Performances are Friday through Sunday at 516 Lincoln Street (corner of Lincoln and East Street), Indianapolis. (Note that coffee service will have closed earlier in the afternoon.)

For information and tickets, visit ankhproductions.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.

History’s flow through Black communities explored in ‘Riverside’

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By John Lyle Belden

The Indianapolis Shakespeare Company, a/k/a Indy Shakes, understands you don’t have to look across the Atlantic for a compelling timeless story. In fact, their current world premiere, “Riverside” by M.L. Roberts, takes place in part on the very ground where it is being performed.

Executive Artistic Director Ryan Arzberger said Roberts underwent extensive research and numerous interviews with people who have lived in the area for decades in the African-American communities in and around Indianapolis, then created a chronicle of a family whose legacy runs through both Indiana and Black history, a well-informed historical fiction and relatable human epic.

A talented and dedicated ensemble play all the parts, from the eternal River that predates the red, then white and black, people who settled here, up to the cusp of present generations in the 1960s. They are Olamide Asanpaola, Kayla Carter, Terra Chaney, Holiday, Malik James, Akili Ni Mali, Ed Gonzalez Moreno, and Milicent Wright, with Jamaal McCray, Josiah McCruiston, and Clarissa Todd as swings. Rudi Goblen directs.

In 1821, there is a settlement of free African-Americans on the White River, led by church Pastor Simon (Moreno) and Sister Sarah Johnson (Carter), who is knowledgeable of the law and whom in the nearby new city of Indianapolis will uphold it. One day, Jacob (James) happens upon the town; he is technically “free” but his white “Massa” who brought him up from Mississippi to work a new farm near Lafayette has him under an unreasonable contract of servitude. After a dramatic standoff, Jacob gains his physical freedom, but it takes time, and Sarah’s gentle patience, to break the chains in his mind and spirit.

The Johnson family that starts on the River follows it down into the heart of Indianapolis, where we find them on legendary Indiana Avenue in the 1920s. Times seem good, but peace is fragile and short-lived, as are some of the neighborhood residents.

As turbulent times follow, Johnsons move upriver to the growing community of Riverside, home of today’s park (and Taggart Memorial Amphitheatre, where this play is presented). In 1962, there is a popular amusement park there, posted Whites Only. Grudgingly accustomed to the culture of segregation, local Blacks take advantage of the singular “Colored Frolic Day” at the park – except for the Johnson children, who at least attempt a protest.

Peppered with humor, music, spirit, and hope, while never afraid to confront the darkness, “Riverside” presents an endearing portrait of a family, a people, and their well-earned place in this American city we call home. The performers help us not just see but feel how the rivers of water and time have brought us to where we are today.

“Riverside” is presented 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, July 25-27, at 2441 N. White River Parkway, Indianapolis. Performances at this beautiful outdoor venue are free, with paid VIP seating available. Either way, reserve a ticket to help with headcount for this not-for-profit organization. For more information, visit IndyShakes.com.

Coach forced to grapple with past in new drama

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By Wendy Carson

Is it possible to redeem a bully and show him the devastating impact he had on others? This question is at the heart of Bennett Ayres’ new play, “Lanista,” brought to you by Catalyst Repertory, directed by Zachariah Stonerock.

First of all, I would like to say that I adore this show. I have not instantly fallen in love with a script like this since I first saw the Phoenix’s production of “The Pillowman.” I honestly can’t help but tell you that you MUST see this show. It is touching, infuriating, yet also cathartic to behold. 

The title of the piece comes from the ancient Roman term meaning a trainer of gladiators. This is how Coach Bill Harrison (Mark Goetzinger) sees himself. He is a molder of high school wrestling champions, a legend throughout the state for his impressive record. However, one of his past students, Joel Beemer (Jamaal McCray) has become his elder-care provider, and is taking the opportunity to show this man just how much he damaged the psyches of his athletes. 

Beemer begins by subtly making Harrison’s family think he is becoming more and more senile. He then begins to subject Coach to the rigors of training, as well as verbal abuse, that he inflicted upon his students. When Harrison tells his daughter Kim (Michelle Wafford) about these occurrences, she sees his stories as further proof of dementia, and besides, this is the first caregiver Coach hasn’t run off. At one point, Beemer feels he may have gone too far, but as the teenager Anna (Olivia Mayer) he regularly visits in Juvenile Detention tells him: When you go for a bully, you have to give them all you’ve got. 

Goetzinger is sheer perfection as the stoic Coach who sees nothing wrong with the way he treated his players – he was just doing his job. McCray shows us every bit of his range as the “caregiver” who appears to be carrying out vengeance on the man partially responsible for the mess his life is today, but don’t forget, Beemer also worked as a teacher. Wafford ably portrays the daughter who has more than enough on her plate, glad to let another handle her dad’s situation. Adam Crowe has a charming cameo as a police officer honored to meet the legendary Coach whose students he once wrestled against. Recent Ball State grad Mayer does an excellent job as the enigmatic bad girl who is in juvie for taking part in a car theft, and has no desire to change her ways. 

Will the former wrestler show the Coach that he was not who he thought he was all these years? Will he realize his methods produced champions but destroyed lives? How does Anna fit into all this? See the show to find out; performances of this World Premiere run Thursday through Sunday (July 7-10) at the IndyFringe Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair, Indianapolis. Get tickets at indyfringe.org.

Ankh at Storefront: Taking knife in hand to dissect ‘Love’

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By John Lyle Belden

Sometimes, being reckless pays off.

Ankh Productions was bold enough to inquire about a residency at the relatively new Storefront Theater in Broad Ripple. Local actor Jamaal McCray was brave enough to explore the dynamics of relationships, writing “Love You Reckless” in 2017, then to dust it off, polish it and present it on stage with Chandra Lynch, Friday through Sunday, April 15-17.

And hopefully, you are curious enough to brave this examination of Yin/Yang, Power/Compassion, Man/Woman, presented raw in nearly a dozen thought-provoking scenes.

McCray and Lynch stand before us, serving up moments of aggression, fear, mischief, compassion, all as off-balance as life itself. Friends, countrymen, lend them your ears – they wield curved blades with which to collect. Other notable moments include the coming stampede(!); the consequence of control; “1,000 pieces of silver in the trash;” the longings of a lonely “sit-izen;” hard promises kept; the glitch; and an exchange of “vows and truths” that are uncomfortably honest.

The stage is decorated with just a pair of altars, to the Masculine/Sun and Feminine/Moon, featuring artworks by Kristin Stepp that are available via silent auction. McCray said that in developing this play, he looked toward old African folktale traditions. Hip-Hop is a binding ingredient, as well, but the themes are universal. Anyone in any kind of relationship can see echoes in these character pairings.

“Love You Reckless” is the kind of experience that works best — maybe only — in an intimate theatre setting. It is similar to a Fringe show but runs a bit over an hour (no intermission). Find the Storefront at 717 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis. Tickets are pay-what-you-can. For information, visit AnkhProductions.org or Facebook/ankhproductions.

Storefront: Listen to the ‘Voices’

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By Wendy Carson and John Lyle Belden

Down in the basement venue of the Storefront Theatre of Indianapolis, we are visited by a Griot. In ages past, this storyteller class told the stories and shared the heritage of West African peoples. Neither the cruel Middle Passage nor the slavers’ whips could destroy their spirit, which lives on in people of color today, and channeled by playwright Angela Jackson-Brown into “Voices of Yesteryear: A Showcase of School #26.” This hour of important narratives is directed by Dena Toler, whose experience included bringing to life multicultural stories at the old Phoenix Theatre under Bryan Fonseca.

While you entered the theater at Broad Ripple, in this space you are on 16th Street, formerly Tinker Street. The area Griot (Saundra “Mijiza” Holiday) invites you to hear stories, told first-hand by those who lived them, about John Hope School No. 26 and its mostly African American neighborhood.

For those who don’t know or remember, this K-8 public school was open from 1920 to 2007 at 1301 E. 16th St., now the site of Oaks Academy Middle School. Named after John Hope, an educator, political activist, and the first African-American president of Morehouse College and Atlanta University, it is held in proud memory by its alumni, who went on to high school at Arsenal Tech and Crispus Attucks.

In “Voices,” we are transported to a different era, not much different from our own but in which we are reminded of the traditions and wisdom it feels we sorely lack in our current world.

We are at the heart of the Civil Rights struggle and a Teacher (Katherine Adamou) shows how the children of the time were taught not that they could succeed but that they WOULD succeed. Discipline, manners, scholarship, and moral integrity were the cornerstones of the classrooms. “Do not shame us,” she commanded, “Or yourselves.”  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached these principles and every child was expected to know and live them. 

Speaking of Dr. King, we hear from a Young Girl (Ari Casey) excited to hear him speak when he comes to Indianapolis in 1958. She not only loves his message, but also has quite a crush on the handsome minister. However, speaking of her feelings could make her mother take the switch to her for being fresh with a man of God.

We also meet one of the many Elders (Ennis Adams) who were leaders in the Neighborhood. They made sure that the children behaved, were respectful to others, went to church, learned their lessons, and parented them as needed. “I’m reminding you that you are a community,” he emphasizes. Everyone looked out for everyone else and while nobody’s lives were by any means easy, they were a bit more stable in a way that would be nice to see return to the world.

Rounding out the cast is Jamaal McCray, remembering as an Alumni and present as a Teenage Boy in the 50s, whose stories echo the change in direction that many youth took in stepping away from this upbringing and finding their own way in this burgeoning new world. 

Having grown up in a rural environment where folks likewise looked out for one another, we found these stories brought on a nostalgia for a simpler, more secure time. One where you could safely play throughout your neighborhood knowing that everything would be alright as long as you were home before the streetlights came on. Of course, we didn’t have the additional burden of race. Teacher and Elder understood this extra stress, and made sure John Hope students knew where they came from, that their history didn’t begin on the shores of America.

The children understand. “A lot of bad things have happened to our people,” the Girl muses. “Ain’t no place perfect,” the Boy says, reminding us that mid-century Indy was not all an idyllic location for Black residents.

Toler and the cast do an excellent job of bringing us people who are a little different, yet very much the same as us. “You know me!” Griot declares; the story of a people is told, she says, in every man, woman, boy and girl you see on the street.

Listen to their “Voices” through March 6 at 717 Broad Ripple Ave. Get information and tickets at www.storefrontindy.com.

Story of doomed campaign a winner for Storefront

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By Wendy Carson and John Lyle Belden

Storefront Theatre of Indianapolis presents its first live production in exactly two years, the comic drama “1980 (Or, why I’m voting for John Anderson),” by Patricia Cotter, directed by Ronan Marra.

As you would surmise from the title, the year is 1980 and Kathleen (Carly Wagers) is a wide-eyed innocent come to make a difference, and earn some college credit, by working for John Anderson’s presidential campaign in Boston. At 19, she has led a sheltered life and is about to have her preconceptions – about life, politics, even herself – shattered.

Brenda (Bridget Haight), the campaign office manager (when she’s not tending bar next door), tries to teach her to face her fears and follow her passions but actually shows her how messy a blue-collar worker’s life can get when one tries to do just that.

Will (Jamaal McCray), who recently arrived from the campaign’s Chicago office, makes her aware of the racism inherent even in a city historically known as the cradle of liberty. His experiences echo incidents that we are currently facing. He also gives Kathleen a glimpse into office politics, not just the kind that involves elections.

Robin (Chelsea Anderson), however, is like the professor emeritus of the group, a blue-blood who has not only worked on past campaigns, but also knows various politicians from social events. Her jaded world outlook, psychological manipulation (masking her own mental issues), and pure ambitious nature are a force beyond anything Kathleen has ever experienced.

Also part of this play are two faces only seen on a TV that was crappy by that era’s standards. One is John B. Anderson (you need to include the middle initial when Googling, or the unrelated country music star comes up first), a moderate Republican from Illinois serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was highly intelligent, capable, and popular among fellow lawmakers, but in the 1980 Presidential primaries was quickly overshadowed by eventual nominee (and President) Ronald Reagan – the other face we see on the screen. Anderson managed the near-impossible feat of running as an Independent, getting on the ballot in every state. Still, even in badly-tinted color, Reagan’s charisma shined through to the voters.

Musing on Anderson’s long-shot chances, Brenda says, “If he can win, what’s that say about the rest of us?” In rock-solid performances, all four of our characters confront questions of what it means to “win,” and what is worth the risk. Also, reflecting what’s sometimes called politics’ “silly season,” this show is leavened with plenty of laugh-out-loud humor.

We know how the story turns out for the men on the TV debate stage (even Anderson, who passed away in 2017 after a long career in politics and public service). But this play focuses on the ones, like us, watching it all unfold, doing our small part – how does our “campaign” turn out? That’s what’s important, no matter what year it is.

Storefront Theatre is at 717 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis. Performances of “1980” run though Oct. 3. Get info and tickets at storefrontindy.com.

Diamond’s rough drama gets Monument-al treatment

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By John Lyle Belden

Two academics, an actor, and a doctor walk onto a stage.

Thus begins the drama “Smart People” by Lydia R. Diamond, presented by Monument Theatre Company at the Fonseca Theatre Company’s Basile Theatre. We are introduced to our four characters each finding themselves in frustrating circumstances: tenure-track Harvard professor Brian White (Maverick Schmidt) berates his students for not getting the gist of what he sees as obvious conclusions; psychology prof Ginny Yang (Kim Egan) tries to present her research findings, interrupted by trivial questions; aspiring actor Valerie Johnston (Barbara Michelle Dabney) struggles to apply her MFA-informed approach to a Shakespeare role while the director gives her inconsistent, illogical instructions; and Dr. Jackson Moore (Jamaal McCray) answers to an administrator berating him for taking life-saving initiative with a patient over his supervisor’s instructions. Ever feel like people just don’t get what you are trying to say?

Over the course of these two long acts, their four lives somehow weave together (how small was Cambridge, Mass., in 2008?), leading up to a borderline-intervention dinner with the whole cast late in the play. While each person’s niggling frustration continues through the plot, the big controversy is in White’s research, in which he publicly presents that he has biologically quantified “white privilege” (Diamond abandoned subtlety; the professor’s name is only Exhibit A).

The play has a lot to say, and says it, as things progress mainly because that’s how Diamond wrote them, which means I have to give a lot of credit to this foursome in giving their individual characters dimension and some degree of credible life.

It’s an interesting comedy that includes jokes the characters themselves point out aren’t funny. Yet there are some bits of humor, mostly in the same vein as Avenue Q’s “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist” (but without the singing). Mainly we get a series of interesting scenes with thought-provoking points. For instance, White’s rants point out well-meaning white liberals’ self-imposed blindness to their passive racism. But flaws in the research, such as the near-impossible task of defining a singular “white” culture to have this inborn bigotry, get brushed aside. Non-whites other than African-Americans get token mention. In one moment, Yang counsels an off-stage Japanese-American woman who identifies as white – apparently the psychologist’s insistence in this unseen person embracing an Asian identity eventually leads to a suicide attempt, but this plot thread leads nowhere.

One can tell that this play looked awesome in the scripts given to the cast and director Rayanna Bibbs. There’s so much “meat” to chew on as an actor, a wide range of emotions, controversial moments to make your audience do a “wait-what?!” And it all caps off with the then-improbable election of Barack Obama (not a big spoiler). For those reading this who really dig such drama exercises, and the big-issue conversations you’ll have on the way home, “Smart People” could be a smart choice. Even better, Monument is doing a pay-what-you-can season.

So, whether you want to give a donation for the company’s artistic efforts, or you are just a fellow starving artist who can only give what’s in your pockets at the moment, make your reservation at monumenttheatrecompany.org. The play runs through Aug. 15. Find the stage at 2508 W. Michigan, indoors (box office staff are masked).

Even when history is changed, have we?

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By John Lyle Belden

From time to time, we all consider what the world would be like if certain historical events didn’t happen – or if others did. These kinds of thought experiments take on a particular point of view in “Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You too, August Wilson),” by Rachel Lynett, presented live in the space behind Fonseca Theatre, directed by Jamaal McCray.

“This exists in the mind of every person of color,” says Lynett through a cast member. Welcome to Bronx Bay, an all-Black state created after the just-completed Second Civil War. We who are White, Latinx, etc., are granted a brief stay to see how the story before us plays out.

Alice (Chandra Lynch) is a struggling restauranteur – the problem being that since she is a quarter Asian, she’s attempting a “Korean fusion” eatery. Her husband Lorenzo (Chinyelu Mwaafrika) is supportive, though privately believes tofu has no place in gumbo. Their close friend Jules (Latrice Young) has a new partner, Yael (Aniqua Sha’Cole), recently approved to live in Bronx Bay. We also meet their freind Izaak (Josiah McCruiston).

Everyone on the stage looks like they belong there, but a stunning revelation threatens friendships, relationships and the tranquility of this new utopia. “People died to make these rules,” Alice reminds the others. But does that make what is happening right?

In the second act, we find ourselves in another imagining of Bronx Bay, a place for families like couples Alice and Jules, and Lorenzo and Izaak. So, how does Yael fit in?

The thesis statement of this absurd drama is literally written on the set pieces: “Blackness Iz Not A Monolith.” The “apologies” of the title allude to the tendency to see a playwright’s telling of a Black experience as “the” Black experience. The five persons we see before us are actually speaking Lynett’s words; so, being Black is the perspective of a young queer African-Latinx woman from California who lives in Arkansas?

To the credit of the writer, as well as McCray and the cast, rather than being confusing – even when going totally meta – this darkly comic journey is entertaining and thought-provoking. There’s even an alternative-history game show.

Scenic Designer Bernie Killian provides an interesting stage for an immersive “in the round” experience. Seating is properly spaced around the stage, however, there is no tent or awning so sunscreen and/or hats are recommended, especially during afternoon performances.

One weekend remains of this World Premiere production, May 28-30, at Fonseca Theatre, 2508 W. Michigan, west of downtown Indianapolis. Tickets and information at fonsecatheatre.org.

Past pain reflects present in IRT drama

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By John Lyle Belden

The drama “No. 6,” presented by Indiana Repertory Theatre, is set in an early-21st-century American city where a white police officer has killed a black man, and violent responses to apparent injustice ensue.

Doesn’t narrow it down much, does it?

That’s the problem, and that’s why the IRT chose this play by T.J. Young, inspired by this repeating narrative, centered on the April 2001 riots in Cincinnati. A fully-produced stage performance, directed by Dwandra Nickole Lampkin, was captured by public television station WFYI and is available to stream at irtlive.com through April 4.

The steady progress of unrest has finally reached the storefront of the Anderson family’s laundry/cleaners, while proprietor Ella (Milicent Wright), with teen twins Felix (Jamaal McCray) and Felicia (LaKesha Lorene), shelter in the upstairs apartment. Felicia, who is on the autistic spectrum, dwells on her dinosaur obsession while Felix is out on the streets, scavenging for food from what past looters left behind. But he comes back with more than Spam – dragging in an unconscious white man.

Our mysterious houseguest (Michael Stewart Allen) has booze on his breath and a gun in his backpack, but as the others discover who he is, they find themselves in the very heart of the city’s issues.

Wright is a rock, as always, the mother-hen and conscience of this play. She has reasons behind her righteousness and shows real pain with her perspective that makes her feel genuine, not just a means to the drama’s message. McCray plays an emotional, impulsive idealist – like a teenager – but also reflecting the open spirit of his martyred father. Lorene gives a sensitive, endearing portrayal of an unconventional genius who has an uncanny grasp of the big picture at work here – big, as in global.

Allen hits all the emotional buttons as a man finding himself in a sort of Purgatory, never completely likable nor hateable. He is forced to deal with the perspective of those not like himself, while we must also acknowledge his. Still, what can one do when he is literally part of the problem?

“People across the globe take to streets and cry, ‘Never again!’” Young says in his program note. “And then it happens again. And again. And again.”

This play is important because it continues the much-needed conversation – but also see it because it is gripping drama with solid human performances, punctuated by sound (credit Matthew Tibbs) and light (Xavier Pierce) that makes the danger feel real and immediate, even in an otherwise comforting home (scene: Rob Koharchik). Support local professional theatre, and boot it up on the big screen.