All Posts Tagged With: "resurrection"

Last night I caught Daniel Beaty‘s world premier drama Resurrection at the Arena Stage as part of the theatre’s two-year festival of American voices.  Those familiar with Beaty undoubtedly remember his one man play Emergence-SEE!.  In that play, Beatty played all 40 of the characters.  

Resurrection has only six characters and they are played by actors other than Beaty.  These six characters represent different plights of Black men in America.  The characters while named are referred to by their ages.  There’s the 10-year old brilliant scientist to be, the 20-year old college student to be, the 30 year old ex-convict trying to make a living, the 40-year old corporate executive, the 50-year old herbal shop owner, and the 60 year old bishop of a mega church.  (The ten-year difference in ages made me think of August Wilson’s ten-play cycle.)

At first the characters seem a little bit stereotypical, especially the 30-year old Dre and the 60-year old Bishop but I assure you they are not.  They are archetypes representing many different Black men trying to make it in life.  Beaty gives a realistic look into the minds and hearts of these men; they reveal what drives them as well as their biggest fears.  Ten-year old Eric struggles to find a cure, 20-year old Twon struggles to leave the projects for college, 30-year old Dre struggles to deal with the consequences of his previous life, 40-year old Isaac struggles with a secret, 50-year old Mr. Rogers struggles to keep his business together, while 60-year struggles with his own difficulties.  The men are intertwined and this is not only shown by their dialogue and relationships but also in how their lines flow together.  Beatty describes it as an epic poem.

Although there are no female characters on stage the women in these men’s lives are a prominent feature in the play.  Their appreciation for these women is the kind that’s rarely portrayed by the media.  We (the audience) knew so much about them that I half expected them to walk out on the stage.

The play was very funny at some points but was very dramatic at others.  All of the characters got laughs but the performance by Dre was the most emotional.  There were times that the play took you from laughter to sadness and back to laughter almost instanteously.  Through the trials and tribulations, we end up with a resounding message that hope and unity among Black men are the key to making it through.  I highly recommend it.

Check out some behind the scenes video here.

Resurrection runs through October 5 at Arena Stage.  The next stop for the play is Hartford, Connecticut.