The Jenkins family is coming together to celebrate the life of their father—hopefully without killing each other! Eldest daughter, Baneatta, wants everything to be perfect for her father’s funeral. “Favorite” daughter, Beverly, would rather honor her daddy dressed to show the entire congregation what she’s been “blessed with.” Teenage granddaughter, La’trice, can’t mind her own business if it was on a leash. Not far behind comes grandson Kenny and his very Jewish boyfriend Logan who is maybe, sort of, okay definitely afraid of Baneatta. But Baneatta’s hopes unravel when a family secret shows up at the funeral…
A fun night out reminding us of the importance of familial love, tolerance and forgiveness. Lyons' play, which stars Cleo King, Norm Lewis and Michael Urie, and features Alana Raquel Bowers, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Aigner Mizzelle, Devere Rogers and Natasha Yvette Williams, is filled with warm-centered performances and broad but entertaining characters.
The cast is dynamic together, making it nearly impossible to single out any one of them. Mizzelle, however, does an extraordinary job at playing the going-on-16-year-old La'Trice Franklin, a character that could easily be portrayed as a Black female caricature. She's loud, she's bold and she says whatever is on her mind; Mizzelle's performance gives nuance to the young Black woman screaming to be seen, included and understood. Urie, who plays Kenny Mabry's white Jewish boyfriend, also does a phenomenal job of conveying how out of place his character feels. At no point does his performance feel forced.
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