Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Donald E. Lacy, Jr.’s old school charisma eclipses predictable diatribes in COLORSTRUCK

• By drediman
• March 18, 2020
• No Comments

Donald E. Lacy in “ColorStruck” at Theater for the New City. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

This past Sunday at Theater for the New City’s subterranean cabaret space, I caught the final performance of ColorStruck, comedian Donald E. Lacy, Jr.’s solo show that ambitiously attempts to comprehensively address the challenges of being black in America. It was a bittersweet afternoon, not so much because of the closing of the show – which was generally worthwhile (more on that below) – but because it was to become the last live performance I attended before the definitive shutdown of performance venues, irregardless of size, across the city.

ColorStruck begins affably enough with a series of amusing personal vignettes recounted by Mr. Lacy about growing up a young light-skinned black man in the Bay Area. The show comes in the increasingly popular mold of stand-up comedy that sneakily doubles as substantial monologue (think Hannah Gadsby). The autobiographical show – with the aid of a history-spanning collection of projected images and audio clips – gradually morphs into a panoramic examination of black identity and racism in this country. If you’re a relatively woke individual, you’ve likely been exposed to much of the material before, particularly to topics like white male supremacy and institutionalized racism.

But what keeps ColorStruck consistently entertaining and compelling is Mr. Lacy himself. Mr. Lacy – who celebrated his landmark 60th birthday at the closing show – is a show business personality of the old school variety. Although his show invariably employs the predictable diatribes of other protest performances that have come before, it’s hard not to engage with such a charismatic host. As a production, ColorStruck is a finely-honed solo show, thanks largely to the fluid and efficient direction by Sean San Jose. The show is a fervent labor of love for both performer and director, which became clearly evident during the post-show discussion.

RECOMMENDED

COLORSTRUCK
Off-Broadway, Play
Theater for the New City
1 hour, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Closed