BWW Reviews: DONTRELL, WHO KISSED THE SEA - A First-Class Love Letter to Family & Their Generations Past

Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea/written by Nathan Alan Davis/directed by Gregory Wallace/Skylight Theatre Complex/thru March 29, 2015

In the rolling world premiere of Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea; playwright Nathan Alan Davis has vividly created strong empathetic characters; some very wise, some very witty, all someone you'd like to get to know better in your own life.

Omete Anassi, in the title role of Dontrell, charms weaving a charismatic spell on all, except probably his Mom, and definitely not his Dad. With less than one month of summer vacation before entering John Hopkins on a full scholarship, Dontrell has been having disturbing dreams. He envisions slaves on a ship with a man jumping overboard. Could this be his grandfather Dontrell's own Dad refuses to speak of? Dontrell chronicles these dreams, along with all his activities and thoughts, in his tape recorder as a an audio diary for the "Future Generation." Uncomfortable sharing any of this with his parents, Dontrell seeks out his cousin Shea for advice and ancestral clarity. Detoured from meeting Shea, Dontrell's best friend Robby offers to give him a ride hijacking him in order to find out Dontrell's reasons for acting strange. Charles McCoy's perfect as Robby, Dontrell's bro since they were pre-school. Their scene where McCoy's Robby's driving, rapping and reading Dontrell's behavior totally thrills while clearly establishing their long-time friendship. As Shea, Dontrell's go-to for advice; Yvonne Huff easily exhibits her street's smarts and business sense. Shea knows more than she lets on, but agrees to help Dontrell "find" his grandfather somewhere in the Atlantic.

His Mom (played with forceful maternal strength by Benai Boyd) although wishing all the best for her kids, also harbors fatalistic concerns about Dontrell ever reaching John Hopkins. Mom enlists her daughter Danielle to keep her brother in line. And plan his graduation party. Jasmine St. Clair's wonderfully wide-eyed and knowlingly innocent as Danielle, Dontrell's younger sister. Her motivation's to get Dontrell to toe their Mom's line so their Mom keeps off her back.

The very forceful Marlon Sanders as Dad has inter-room yelling matches with Mom- embarrassing for the assembled party guests, but hysterical for the audience. Intriguing family dynamics here. Does Mom wear the pants in this household? Certainly appears like she call all the shots. But Dad's definitely not the "weaker" partner either. Sanders' Dad's defense of Mom's actions towards Dontrell is simply eye-opening, divulging who's really in full control. Brilliant reveal in its surprising depth.

Never having even dipped his toe in the ocean, let alone in a swimming pool, Dontrell attempts to teach himself to swim by jumping into the deep end of a nearby pool. Luckily, lifeguard Erika's on duty to save him. Haley McHugh initially beguiles as Erika, a gabby loner who rescues Dontrell and blatantly (to all but Dontrell) seduces him. Play's sweet, semi-serious tone gets upended with the change of Erika's attitude from charming to stalking and entrapment. McHugh's Erika's unfortunately reminiscent of "Gone Girl's" final Crazy Amy.

Gregory Wallace directs with a firm, smooth flow drawing full three -dimensional performances from his talented cast. The 90 minutes go by in a flash.

Kudos to Stephanie Kerley's top-tier set composed of wooden planks and multi-purpose wooden pieces with free-form white drapes serving as video projection screens for Nicholas Santiago's effectual waves, rain, and stars. Impeccably staged set changes by the cast morph platforms into a dining room table, a bed, the edge of a swimming pool, and the piece de resistance-a sailboat. David B. Marling's distinctive sound effects complement the whole aquatic atmosphere.

Opening has the entire cast filling the theatre with energy with their synchronized stomping feet, their banging sticks, McCoy's drumming and Boyd's beautiful à cappella vocals; all garbed in African cloth and dancing to the sharp choreography of Ayana Cahrr.

Clever bit of theatrecraft in one scene - having Boyd sitting on her couch facing the audience watching her soap opera while the audience actually sees it performed upstage most melodramatically by St. Clair and McCoy in a TV screen-shaped spotlight. And Sanders' watching the same soap opera in his room. Ingenious!

Wished Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea actually ended after Dad shared grandfather's memento with Dontrell. Anassi so deservedly earns audience's empathy for his Dontrell that concerns that he and Erika might be lost at sea with the possibility of their sailboat capsizing seems unnecessarily harsh. Let's not even mention Erika's out-of-left-field declaration. Does Dontrell even have a clue of his grandfather's whereabouts in this vast Atlantic ocean? But, alas, we would have been deprived of the inventive sailboat and the lyrical and stunning, if confusing final scene. Sure hope Mom's fatalism doesn't come to fruition and Dontrell does attend John Hopkins.

Bravo to all involved in this Skylight Theatre Company and Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble co-production.

www.skylighttheatrecompany.com