Review: BLACK SUPER HERO MAGIC MAMA Visually Stunning World Premiere Will Invade Your Psyche and Sensibilities

The World Premiere of BLACK SUPER HERO MAGIC MAMA, helmed by lauded director Robert O'Hara, bursts with visually stunning life from the vibrant imagination of Los Angeles-based playwright Inda Craig-Galván and the creative artistry of scenic designer Myung Hee Cho, lighting designer Alex Jainchill, costume designer Karen Perry, projection designer Yee Eun Nam, with original music and sound design by Lindsay Jones. These designers are to be commended for bringing both the everyday and comic book worlds of a 14-year old boy into focus, as experienced by his supremely devoted mother who proves the greatest superpower is a mother's love.

Featuring the impressive talents of actors Noah Abbott, Reiko Aylesworth, Walter Belenky, Daryl C. Brown, Kevin Douglas, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Cedric Joe, and Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, BLACK SUPER HERO MAGIC MAMA is both heartbreaking and highly inventive in its story and presentation. It begins in the center stage bedroom of 14-year old Tramarion Jackson (Cedric Joe) as he consults with his best friend Flat Joe (Noah Abbott) about their soon-to-be-published comic book centering around superhero Maasai Angel. Both young actors are stellar in these roles, making it easy to understand their personality differences, with their mutual end goal clearly pushing them to achieve their best work together.

Tramarion's ever present mother, Sabrina (Kimberly Hébert Gregory, who commands the stage from start to finish), is driven to control her son's every move from making sure he is listening to the Harry Potter story she reads to hum at bedtime to the clothes he wears and secrets hidden in his desk drawer. And even when her well-meaning sister Lena Evans (Cynthia Kaye McWilliams) chastises her for not letting the 14-year old make his own decisions and just be a kid, Sabrina knows what is best and continues on her road of all-encompassing control.

All seems to be going along smoothly for Tramarion, an award-winning champion of Black History facts, as he prepares to travel with his coach Corey Blackett (Daryl C. Brown) and teammates to compete on the popular "Know Your Heritage" TV show. Of course, he wins and proudly holds onto his latest trophy to add to his collection. But when the coach realizes he locked his van's keys inside and attempts to break in (rather than logically calling AAA), an altercation with police officer Dave Lester (Walter Belenky) leads to an accidental shooting that takes young Tramarion's life.

It is then that BLACK SUPER HERO MAGIC MAMA becomes an eye-opening examination of how any parent can possibly learn to deal with such an inconceivable loss, an all too regular tragedy taking place around the world. As the incident's facts are sensationalized by two news reporters (Reiko Aylesworth and Kevin Douglas), their cold-hearted reporting amid mind-blowing media projections overwhelms the psyche of the heartbroken Sabrina as she sits on her son's bed and sinks into depression. How will she possibly survive emotionally as even her sister and Flat Joe cannot get through to her.

Unable to face the ensuing flurry of media attention and crippled by grief, Sabrina retreats into a fantasy world of superheroes and arch villains that inhabit the comic book created by her son before his death. It in in the following scenes that we are taken into the comic book world from the mind of a 14-year-old boy as Sabrina becomes superhero Maasai Angel, rather than the expected part of grieving mother, thus allowing herself to take on the comic book's arch villains including Lady Vulture, Human Hyena and more, each portrayed by cast members already seen in other roles via vibrant and visually stunning fantasy costuming.

Hébert Gregory literally shines as bright as the Sun as she battles to find the Entity to show her the way to find inner peace, as this comic book battle is child's play compared to the heartbreaking emotional pain in her real life. And her journey contains some of the most stunning visual displays ever seen in the smaller Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at The Geffen Playhouse!

Playwright Inda Craig-Galván and director Robert O'Hara have brilliantly brought modern-day issues such as race-motivated police shootings, gun control, personal responsibility, ratings-motivated media reporting, and parenting styles to the forefront in this world premiere, sure to go on to great fame worldwide following the Geffen run. BLACK SUPER HERO MAGIC MAMA is presented with major support provided by the Edgerton Foundation New Play Production Fund, as well as grants from The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation and The David Lee Foundation, all of whom I thank for wholeheartedly supporting the power live theatre can bring to supporting society to address changes needing to be made.

BLACK SUPER HERO MAGIC MAMA performances continue through April 14, 2019 on Tuesday - Friday 8:00 p.m., Saturday 3:00 and 8:00 p.m., Sunday 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. (dark Monday) in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at The Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Run time is 1 hour and 55 minutes, including one 15 minute intermission. Tickets currently priced at $30 - $120, available in person at The Geffen Playhouse box office, by phone at 310.208.5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.org. Rush tickets for each day's performance are made available to the general public 30 minutes before showtime at the box office. $35 General / $10 Student.

Photos by Chris Whitaker