Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Katori Hall’s sitcomish THE HOT WING KING coasts on the wave of raucous goodwill

• By drediman
• March 2, 2020
• No Comments

The company of Signature Theatre Company’s production of “The Hot Wing King” by Katori Hall at the Pershing Square Signature Center. Photo by Monique Carboni.

Last night, Katori Hall’s new play The Hot Wing King opened at the Pershing Square Signature Center, courtesy of Signature Theatre Company. It’s been a busy year for Ms. Hall, who is also represented this season as the book writer of the hit musical Tina: The Tina Turner Musical on Broadway. Set in present-day Memphis, Tennessee and using an impending hot wing competition as the backdrop to the proceedings, the playwright’s latest work tells the story of a budding relationship between a newly out-of-the-closet gay black man and his more established boyfriend, who also has issues himself to deal with.

Although the play comes across awfully close to a sitcom, I nonetheless had a mighty good time at The Hot Wing King. I applaud Ms. Hall’s effort to explore manhood/masculinity and familial responsibility vis-à-vis the contemporary black queer experience. There’s also an authenticity and freewheeling joy to her writing that’s downright infectious. And although some of the scenarios the lovingly-crafted characters find themselves in are arguably eye-rollingly clichéd, the work’s generally upbeat tone and positive messaging is a refreshing shift from the recent crop of plays that have honed in on the dire bleakness of being black in America (e.g., depictions of unjust incarceration in the remount of The Peculiar Patriot and rampant disease in the recent One in Two). Indeed, the play succeeds by coasting on a wave of irresistible, raucous goodwill.

The lively production has been directed with crowd-pleasing gregariousness by Steve H. Broadnax III. The performances from his excellent cast ooze with terrific vivaciousness. Particularly noteworthy is the central performance of the handsome Toussaint Jeanlouis as the character still working out his identity as a gay man. His performance — in my opinion the heart of the show — conveys the fragility of the character’s situation and his inner strength with heart and moving sensitivity. But almost running away with the show is Sheldon Best, who strikes comic gold playing a flamboyant, sassy-mouthed character who you can’t help but love despite the mischief he stirs up.

RECOMMENDED

THE HOT WING KING
Off-Broadway, Play
Signature Theatre Company / Pershing Square Signature Center
2 hours, 20 minutes (with one intermission)
Through March 22