| What's refreshing about CHOIR BOY is that its protagonist is not only a victim, he's an affront. Pharus Jonathan Young is a nelly gay boy which he regularly and at times strategically flaunts. And you love him the more for it. He can't entirely avoid being hurt by, essentially, the fear and anxiety of others, but he has power--and, yes, masculine authority--in his self possession. For my money, this is the best, the most encouraging thing about CHOIR BOY. The play is otherwise fleet and engaging throughout. It's well directed and beautifully played by a group of actors who also sing and move with great heart. It's not everyday that you see a play that depicts what it's like to be a black gay man. Years ago, there was a documentary by Marlon Riggs, on this same subject, called TONGUES UNTIED. It was radical at the time but now it's ancestral; McCraney and other young, black male playwrights are standing on his--and Baldwin's--shoulders. Welcome to the Great White Way. |
