Review: FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME at Portland Center Stage

I did not want to leave my house last Sunday evening. It was freezing...and pouring down rain...and I was tired from a weekend full of houseguests. But, I had tickets to see FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME at Portland Center Stage, so I begrudgingly dragged myself and my partner off the couch. The second that I stepped into the theatre, my funk disappeared. The house was full (the biggest crowd I've seen at PCS since before the pandemic), the crowd was excited, and the theatre had a nightclub vibe.

Then, the show started, and for the next 90ish minutes, I was in paradise. There was someone in the audience who had seen FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME more than 60(!) times. Many shows have their rabid fans, but I never understood them before. I do now. FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME is a joyous celebration of music and life and the act of creating something together. It warmed me from the inside-out on that cold and rainy night, and if I have the chance to see it again, or even 59 more times, I will be there.

What is this magical show? Someone asked me that question before it started, and I said it's an improv hip hop musical. While that description is accurate, it's also hopelessly inadequate, as the full effect of this show is much greater than the sum of its parts.

Created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, and Anthony Veneziale (who is also in the show), FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME features a wildly talented set of performers who take suggestions from the audience and create everything from short rhymes to complete mini-musicals. Just off its Broadway run, this is a limited tour that Portland was very lucky to get on the schedule.

The artists the night I went were rappers Two Touch (aka Anthony Veneziale) and Jellis J (Jay C. Ellis), world champion beatboxer Kaiser Rözé (Kaila Mullady), singer Hummingbird (Morgan Reilly), pianist Rich Midway (Richard Baskin Jr.), and keyboardist Not Draggin (James Rushin). There was also a special guest - Portland's own Cheryl Strayed. (A heads-up: Improv master Wayne Brady is set to guest star this weekend.)

Since this is improv, no two shows are the same, but the basic elements build from a single person creating a rhyme based on a word to a multi-character musical reenactment of an audience member's day. My favorite segment was the one involving Cheryl Strayed - the concept was to give someone a second chance at something in their past. She told a crazy story involving a family trip to visit Oprah in Hawaii, which the cast then used as a sliding doors moment in what was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on stage.

The cast is incredible - a big part of the appeal of FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME is simply watching these gifted performers doing something that seems so far beyond the ability of mere mortals like me. But what I liked best about the show is its positive energy. For an hour and a half, there was nothing outside that experience - no rain, no COVID, no war - just a theatre full of people smiling and laughing together.

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME runs at Portland Center Stage through May 1. I recommend canceling any and all other plans so that you can see it. More details and tickets here: https://www.pcs.org/freestyle-love-supreme

Photo by Joan Marcus

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