EGN NEWS DESK
The choreographer Raja Feather Kelly’s dance-theater works have made him a mainstay on the downtown arts scene. With his newest piece, “The Fires,” Kelly is making his debut as a playwright. Rarely does a present dwell up so truthfully to its title — wrecking and illuminating in equal measure.
In his lustrous, emotionally textured play, which opened on Tuesday at Soho Rep, three homosexual Black males are caught in a railroad condominium. But these males — Jay, Sam and Eli — aren’t roommates; they dwell in the identical house throughout separate time durations: 1974, 1998 and 2021. Since the actors not often go away the elongated stage, the characters’ tales play out in tandem.
In the ’70s, Jay (Phillip James Brannon) lives together with his lover, George (Ronald Peet), and turns into depressed whereas journaling in regards to the Greek goddess Aphrodite, whom, he claims, is gravely underestimated: More than a mere mirthful goddess of affection, Aphrodite was vengeful, war-driven and unsettled as a result of, like Jay, she by no means knew her actual father. Sam (Sheldon Best) within the ’90s is George’s son. He feels deeply misunderstood however finds a kinship together with his lately deceased father whereas studying the journals he and Jay left within the condominium. Eli (Beau Badu) within the 2020s has essentially the most sexual freedom however is caught enjoying a tug-of-rope sport with Maurice, (Jon-Michael Reese), a young younger man who has the potential to be Eli’s nice love.
Kelly doesn’t have these characters communicate instantly to at least one one other throughout time, however there are parallels in every scene that evoke a ghostly connection between the lads. And the thought is supported by the scenic designer Raphael Mishler’s set: Most of the 1974 scenes happen on our left in a bed room with a fire, typewriter and a retro two-knob radio; for almost all of the 2021 scenes, our consideration is directed to the appropriate, to a front room with an electrical hearth, Eli’s laptop computer and a sensible speaker. Time and expertise leap ahead, however human need for warmth, expression and a groove stay the identical.
Jumbling timelines on a railroad condominium of a set does current some route challenges, as when characters in a single interval trek proper in entrance of (however aren’t acknowledged by) characters in one other. You can end up ping-ponging between these freewheeling vignettes, determined to catch all the motion.
Mercifully, there may be some mild peeking by means of the darkness of this play. Well-timed comedic moments show that queer Black life (and, thus, queer Black love) can at occasions be tragic and hilarious. Kelly balances a lot of the lads’s melancholy with memorable performances from different solid members, together with Janelle McDermoth as Sam’s quick-witted, fiery-lipped youthful sister, and Jason Veasey, as Jay’s model-masculine brother in 1974 after which Eli’s droll, keto-devoted buddy in 2021. And then there may be Michelle Wilson, as Sam’s devoted mom, Leslie, who expertly carries the load of a sophisticated character hit repeatedly with tragedy. When her emotional break comes, its depth is nearly insufferable.
By the present’s conclusion, it’s evident that playwriting must be thought of solely partially novel terrain for Kelly who has, actually, grappled with narrative for years. Even with out eight counts, “The Fires” is undeniably one other dance. The expressionistic means Jay goes mad whereas conjuring his Greek muse is butoh. The woeful means Sam mopes round his condominium whereas grieving is a up to date dance. The hyper-anxious means Eli pushes away and pulls in his lover is a tango. The swish means all three and their tales twirl is nothing in need of balletic.
The Fires
Through June 16 on the Soho Rep, Manhattan; sohorep.org. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes.
