Reading: "brownsville song (b-side for tray)" at Shotgun Players

I'll be brief. I feel a little guilty blogging about this at all, because I got caught up at work and was late to the reading. The staff was kind and let me in at an appropriate momentary break, but I missed probably the first 15-20 minutes. Luckily I had done at least part of my homework, and had read at least the start of the play.

And as always, I'm blown away with what these artists can do in only four days of preparation.

The Play

I guess you could sum it up as an inner-city family drama, focused on a grandmother raising her grandson (the Tray in the title) and granddaughter, Devine. Tray is trying to get a scholarship so he can go to college, based in part on his skill as a boxer. His coach hires a tutor to help him with his scholarship application, and the tutor turns out to be the stepmother who abandoned him (and his sister) some years back. So that's awkward.

The play jumps around in time a bit, but it does so quite effectively, revealing layers of the story, adding complexity to what initially appear to be fairly simple situations. That part is nicely done, and the language and characters are compelling.

Ultimately, I guess the message is that you can live a righteous life and try to do all the right things, but it doesn't mean things turn out the way you'd want. It's not all bleak, but it's not exactly a happy story, either.

The Players

Once again, Cathleen Riddley, this time as Lena, the grandmother, amazes. She gives a heartfelt, stirring performance, ranging from hard-as-nails protecting her grandchildren to a fun and loving grandma, and several other distinct emotional states. All the more amazing because she is also playing the lead role in Shotgun's current mainstage production, "Grand Concourse" (which I'm going to see tomorrow night) and part of the "roulette-style" casting of "Hamlet" running in repertory at the same time. Any of those is tough on its own. To do all of them is amazing, and to do all of them well, just incredible.

Lenard Jackson as Tray does a terrific job throughout, with a difficult, ranging part, both physically and verbally. And he had good chemistry with his little sister, played by Malia Lee.

The Takeaway

You know from the outset that things aren't going to go well. And I'm really unhappy that I missed Riddley's performance of the opening scene. It's powerful to read, and I can only imagine what she put into it on stage.

The play hits on a lot of contemporary issues, including how to live a clean life under difficult circumstances, and how to (perhaps) redeem yourself after you make grave errors. There is much here about family, both biological and by choice, and about choices and redemption and forgiveness.

Definitely a worthwhile evening, and it strikes me as a play that would be worth seeing in a full staging, as I'm sure there are nuances and layers that could be probed with more time to prepare and present. Plus, I missed the start, and would like to see it whole. My bad.