BWW Previews: AN OCTOROON at Area Stage Company

Seeing the white Gil Kaufman put on red face and a Seminole head-dress, all the while raging in strobes to Nicki Minaj's 'Starships' and scattering rough cotton for the slaves, should have been one of the most offense acts imaginable. Such it is for An Octoroon, the compelling and fresh piece by playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins- it should be offensive, and that is the purpose. Making its regional premiere this week under the wise hands of John Rodaz and an amazing cast, An Octoroon spells a mighty fun time for Miami audiences, a show all too pressing for the contemporary theatre. Watching one of the first run-throughs was an experience in drama, an experience in theatricality, and an experience in the cutting edge.

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As Robert Richards Jr. coats himself in white face and raves to Kendrick Lamar's Humble ("I would have preferred 'D.N.A.'," he tells me, and I understand his sentiments), the show really starts. Richards plays the role of BJJ, the eponymous author of the 2014 piece, along with the play-within-a-play's white characters, George and M'Closy. The internal dramatic piece is BJJ's retelling fo the 1850s theatre staple The Octoroon, re-examined at length by the contemporary black mind ("I'm a black playwright... I'm not sure what that means!" Richards states in a challenging opening monologue). Without seeking to spoil some of the show's intrigues, it is still worth giving forewarning that Rodaz' An Octoroon holds nothing back in subverting and criticizing theatrical expectations.

All the while, throughout the run, Area Stage Company veteran Rick Kaydas and cellist Stephanie Jaimes play a parlor-esque original accompaniment to the play, adding layers and layers of tension and soul to Rodaz' production. The innocent pluckings for Br'er Rabbit and the chaos of Act Four are so well placed and undercut, that audiences familiar with this Off-Broadway smash will find new joys.

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As stated, An Octoroon is a sort of reimagining of The Octoroon. The original 1859 play was the height of antebellum drama, using blackface and melodrama to their heights, all the while raising issues of abolition and slavery. An Octoroon mixes its founder's history along with a hilarious satire on the drama, introducing the author Boucicault into the action, and using slight asides to take audiences along in the process of theatre. The script alone is one of the more impressive works to come out of the past decade, and is a rarity to see something so fresh.

By opening, Rodaz' costumes and lights and sound work are going to dazzle even more than the smattering put before me. Working with his son, Giancarlo Rodaz, the set and lighting are sure to be absolutely jaw-dropping, especially in both Rodaz' ingenious sleight-of-hands in the later acts.

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"The amount of research I did for this is insane," Mallory Newbrough tells me. She's showing me her variations of southern Gothic walking, and giving side-splitting Scarlett O'Hara impersonations. Newbrough is playing the heiress Dora, a role with more nuance than she expected in her first straight play of the year. Seeing her ridiculous physicality and comedic timing, she's a show in her own, one that undercuts the main plots in a delightful and refreshing way. Newbrough is a straight comedy underneath the metatheatricality and politics, the fresh air before audiences will duck back into the trench of Jacob-Jenkins' script.

Nonetheless, she's got strong competition in Candice Marie Singleton's Minnie. Singleton has a sharp tongue and razor wit, regularly bouncing her best off of Stephon Duncan's Dido (a character whose growth is visible and compelling in a way many secondary performers never reach), giving some of the funniest moments in slight mannerisms. The expertise of Singleton and Duncan move the show from plot point to plot point, bearing much of the transitionary brunt and not showing an ounce of the strain.

Seth Crawford is another performer to keep an eye on as the show warms, playing the Assistant to Gil Kaufman's Playwright, and both Pete and Paul within the story. His jokes and humor are set to make audiences shriek with laughter and then feel the pangs of guilt at their enjoyment- he nails it down with a smile. In one of the more delicate positions of the show, Crawford firmly plants his foot where it needs to be and gives a stand-out performance.

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How Rodaz managed to wrestle this show in, visibly even before opening, is a shock. Between the storm and the sheer scale of Jacob-Jenkins' script, the show shouldn't exist as it does if he was given another ten months of work. Seeing how the show fits together at opening will be a sight to behold.

An Octoroon plays September 24th-October 8th at the Area Stage Company. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.

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