A powerful theatrical testament by Keenan Scott II, THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN weaves spoken word, slam poetry and rhythm into a mosaic of the inner lives of Black men, and heralds the arrival of an essential new voice to the American Theater.
Speaking, as I was above, of political correctness, I'm about to give the currently prevailing policy a tug of my own. I reiterate that Scott's Thought of a Colored Man is for all audiences, but I submit that there are really only two audiences and that both will profit deeply from it. The BiPOC audience members will recognize and appreciate Scott's understanding of who they are and what continuing indignities they experience daily. The white audience, realizing more in the last few BLM years than it historically has, will be taking in even newer revelations about a country so long and still too recalcitrantly the major societal and cultural influence. For his perspicacity and for his well-honed insistence on perceiving and respecting the life of the Other, playwright Scott is to be profoundly thanked.
Signs play an important part in the episodic play Thoughts of a Colored Man. For one thing, the show itself was a sign: Thoughts was the first new show to put up a marquee during the COVID shutdown. In February, no one knew exactly how or when an opening would happen, so the display was a big, bold, crocus-yellow promise that the theater was going to return. The play also takes place on a sign - Robert Brill's set is a gigantic billboard. Behind the performers on the Golden Theatre's stage is a huge white rectangle with the word COLORED blocked out in gray-on-white letters. As the characters visit various locations in their neighborhood in Brooklyn, the performers wander around and on the billboard's metal framework.
| 2021 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music in a Play | Te'La |
| 2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Projection Design | Sven Ortel |
| 2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | John Gassner Award | Keenan Scott II |
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