“Choir Boy” hopefully begins a trend of producing non-traditional musicals - that is, musicals that exit the norm of out-of-world songs or sung dialogue.Įarly on, the use of a cappella music in “Choir Boy” feels novel, but it quickly becomes immersive and locked into the story for the boys, singing is another language when the pressure to become men grows too paramount for spoken word. Ten years later, this production of “Choir Boy” is being presented in Seattle by ACT and the 5th Avenue Theatre as part of a joint venture to front smaller musicals. “Choir Boy” premiered in 2012 in a cooperative effort between The English Stage Company and Manhattan Theatre Club, after a 2007-08 commission from the latter. Institutional wooden benches function as chairs, beds and percussive additions to the musical score, which is performed entirely a cappella in the gorgeous style of gospel spirituals. The hexagonal set itself appears like an arena, three ramps leading in from tunnel entryways.
It is difficult to discuss “Choir Boy” without spoiling the moments of awe contained in the set, which intertwines with the plot under the supervision of scenic designer Tony Cisek. Pendleton (Larry Paulsen), a white teacher who interacts with the students’ and audience’s biases as he mentors the boys in creative thinking. With possible answers to these questions, in come characters like Headmaster Marrow, who walks the line of fostering the individual and holding up the standards of the collective, and Mr. Pharus and Bobby are often bookends on the range of immaturity to early manhood, begging the questions of audiences: Where do we allow Black boyhood? Where do we celebrate it? In the director’s note in the “Choir Boy” program, Jude puts this to audiences as, “Where is it safe to be a Black child?” The schoolboy ensemble’s spectrum of masculinity shifts throughout “Choir Boy,” with the young men transforming from slouching in class to improvising duets to performing as the tableau of singers at commencement. Bernard fulfills this responsibility with grace and incredible tact, not only keeping audiences keyed into the nuances of his words but also forming avenues of clarity through his use of intonation and pensive pause that match in narrative strength with the text. In comparison to the other boys, he has had to grow up both sooner and faster. As the choir lead for his senior year, Pharus brings with him the baggage of repression beneath the celebration and exuberance of leadership. Pharus is outspoken, proud and opinionated, making for a very text-heavy character who has a complex weight to carry within the spectacle of his story. The students struggle together in their classes and apart in discussion with their families, and come together to clash and reflect at extracurricular choir meetings.Īs Pharus, the choir lead and lead of the show, Bernard glides.
#When i grow up song theater for free#
Williams), attend for free on legacy status. Stalling) attend Drew thanks to scholarships, while others, such as Bobby Marrow (Jarron A. Thus begins the unraveling, as multiple notes of adversity within the student body are raised students like Pharus and David (Brandon G. It’s wonderfully on the nose that junior student Pharus Jonathan Young (Nicholas Japaul Bernard), a student living with the pressure of how his sexuality is perceived, becomes the center of a broken tradition when he takes an unplanned pause in the song he leads for the ceremony. This is a time of tradition, anticipation and relief. The audience is welcomed warmly to a graduation ceremony, as Headmaster Marrow (Arlando Smith) smiles on. Drew Prep School for Boys - an all-Black, all-male school contained within downtown’s A Contemporary Theatre - these words demonstrate what is expected of the boys followed in “Choir Boy,” written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Jamil Jude.
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