THE HANGOVER REPORT – Tarell Alvin McCraney’s CHOIR BOY makes a joyful noise, tinged with sorrow

Jeremy Pope leads Manhattan Theatre Club's production of "Choir Boy" by Tarrell Alvin McCraney at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Jeremy Pope leads Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of “Choir Boy” by Tarell Alvin McCraney at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

In Choir Boy, Tarell Alvin McCraney has written hands-down his most joyful play. That’s not to say that Mr. McCraney (perhaps best known for co-penning the Oscar-winning film Moonlight) has written a straight-up feel good comedy. Sorrowful, tempestuous emotions lurk just beneath the mostly sunny disposition of the high school boarding-set play, which tells the story of Pharus, an accomplished, irrepressible black gay student whose passion in life is simply to sing out, loud and strong.

When those complex, self-sabotaging emotions and unruly tendencies uncontrollably shoot up to the surface, the impact is slicing and jarring. That’s because the playwright has hit upon some deep truths about going through adolescence. Personally speaking, as a gay man of color who was in the closet during his high school years, Choir Boy took me straight back to that richly-colored, pseudo-innocent place (in unfiltered hues, of course) – complete with all the helpless confusion, vulnerability, and hope of that delicate time. Although I think Mr. McCraney has written more monumental plays (his The Brother/Sister Plays are a work of genius), the bold accessibility of Choir Boy is a welcome departure from his more theatrically and dramatically conceptual and adventurous works.

The production that’s currently running on Broadway, which has been confidently and smoothly directed by Trip Cullman, is a revised version of the staging (also produced by MTC) that ran Off-Broadway a few seasons ago. Mr. McCraney has revisited some of the play’s scenes, most notably buffing-up the work’s numerous crowd-pleasing musical interludes. Luckily, Jeremy Pope reprises his astonishingly nuanced and hugely charismatic performance as Pharus. Also in the cast are some important veteran stage actors (the great Chuck Cooper and Austin Pendleton) and a crew of young black actors who bring a brash, defiant, and wholly irresistible energy to the stage. Oh, and they sound (and move) just gloriously. Oh, to be young again!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

CHOIR BOY
Broadway, Play
Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
1 hour, 40 minutes (without an intermission)
Through February 24

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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