A Searing New Play Finds Its Houston Premiere At Rec Room Arts

Rec Room Arts has announced that Brandon J. Morgan, Atseko Factor, and Alan Brincks will be featured in its production of Pass Over, a searing new play by Antoinette Nwandu and directed by Mekeva McNeil. This Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist begins a four-week Houston premiere run on February 8 at 7:30 and continues through February 29.

Pass Over follows Moses (Brandon J. Morgan, The Royale) and Kitch (Atseko Factor, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), two friends passing time on a street corner. Stuck. Waiting for change. Inspired by Waiting for Godot and the Exodus, Antoinette Nwandu fuses humor, poetry, and humanity in an inventive new play which exposes the experiences of young black men in a world that refuses to see them.

The world premiere production at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre astounded audiences, became the center of critical controversy, and inspired Spike Lee to film the production. "I'm very drawn to the different ways that we create epic," describes playwright Antoinette Nwandu. "One way is by making a play's surface area vast-whether that's huge ranges of time or tons of characters or locations. But with this play, I was like, how can I keep the surface area of the play small but give it very deep roots? When you compare contemporary young black men on a street corner to young slaves to young Israelites, what essential truths can we distill from all of these different historical moments?"

Director Mekeva McNeil says "This play captures the liminal space we all live in. It asks us to question what the promised land is and do we have to die to experience it."

The production team includes Rec Room mainstays. Scenic design by Managing Director Stefan Azizi, lighting design by Addie Pawlick, costume design by Victoria Nicolette, and dramaturgy by Eric Moore. Jessica Casanova is stage manager.

Single tickets are now on sale and range from $5 - $40. They can be purchased at the door or online at https://www.recroomarts.org/pass-over.