BWW Reviews: ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

There's a game of questions where you are asked what four famous people you would invite to dinner. I would suggest considering the four iconic and charismatic characters featured in ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI. It's a rare theatrical treat both savory and bittersweet set during the dying days of segregation in a nation on the precipice of change.

Director Kwame Kwei-Armah has produced a magical blend of entertainment and history without sacrificing either one. Playwright Kemp Powers throws the themes of assimilation, revolution, conversion and subversion in the ring where a quartet of heavyweights meet, celebrate, argue and forgive.

In 1964, newly crowned heavy weight champion Cassius Clay (Sullivan Jones), activist Malcolm X (Tory Andrus), Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown (Esau Pritchett), and singer-songwriter Sam Cooke (Grasan Kingsberry) forgo a party in the swanky part of Miami to hang out in a room at the Hampton House in the segregated part of town following Clay's upset victory over Sonny Liston.

Malcom proselytizes the Nation of Islam and Clay reveals that he will convert and rename himself Muhammad Ali. Malcolm faults Cooke for his lack of activism. Cooke counterpunches and defends his artistic integrity. Brown, natural diplomat and potential movie star, reminds the righteous that basic needs must still be met before revolution can ensue. This sets off a powerful dialogue where the four deftly defend their distinct views on race and celebrity.

The set is pitch perfect as are the four actors who are seamless in their energy, characterizations and interactions. Jones is bursting with charm and bravado as Clay. Andrus is a firebrand with finesse. Brown has the powerful presence of an athlete and the sly humor of a closet intellectual. Kingsberry is phenomenal as Cooke, apparently channeling the singer right into his vocal cords.

Rounding out the cast with just the right added touch are Genesis Oliver and Royce Johnson as two star struck guards who like the audience get swept up in the excitement of the moment unaware of the future waiting just around the corner.

The play captures the time and place in bright technicolor style with all the vibrance of the men in the center of a movement that defines and defies us still.

"One Night in Miami" runs through February 15 at Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St. Tickets are $19 to $59. Call 410-332-0033, or go to www.centerstage.org.

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