Review: FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME at The Kennedy Center

Freestyle Love Supreme is a unique show that consists of about an hour and a half of improvised hip-hop beats and rapping, with a healthy dose of comedy and banter.

The now from broadway show retroactively gained buzz no doubt from Lin-Manuel Miranda's hand in its creation, and the current tour brings the high pace musical sensation to the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center.

The show features multiple MCs and instrumentalists making up songs on the spot based on audience suggestions. The ring leader of this performance was Andrew Bancroft, AKA Jelly Donut, as he is referred to throughout the show. It was evident throughout the performance that each performer has their strengths, and one of Mr. Donut's was comedy. The quickness with which rappers freestyle and craft rhymes translates into an incredibly quick wit and apparent knowledge of long-form improvisational comedy, which was very satisfying and exciting to watch. He also led the audience interactions and overall set the structure for the show.

The strength of another MC, Morgan Reilly (Hummingbird) however, was her voice. Throughout the piece, she led the majority of the vocals, with quite the range, she sang, yelped, and intoned beautifully and in full support of her fellow MCs.

Christopher Jackson also provided beautiful vocals, and of course skilled rapping, as well as a great deal of physical comedy. The most memorable rapping of the night however was done by the guest MC, Dizzy Senze (Dizzy). While not the most featured of the night, presumably due to her "guest" nature, Dizzy had a few moments to shine when introduced, showing the audience her ability to change flows quickly, with much variation.

And while yes of course the show is advertised as improvised, it also followed the structure of a standard improv show, with characters, callbacks, and if you're familiar, "the game" (think Second City, UCB).

In that same convention, the performers interacted with the audience, not only taking the regular one-word suggestions, but listening to audience stories and subsequently recreating them in a dramatic, rapped fashioned, much to the delight (one can assume) of the story-giver.

The show was surprisingly physical, with this particular night involving the MCs pretending to be cats, setting trashcans on fire, and going on runs. Every bit featured heavy pantomiming and space work, which was all executed in a tight, effective manner.

The pace was also tight and very quick, parallel to the incredible percussive performance of Kaila Mullady, or Kaiser Rözé, who was the beat-boxer of this performance. It is impossible to overstate how integral Mullady's contributions to the piece were. While the other MCs jumped in and out, rapping, and singing, Mullady did not stop for the majority of the performance and created non-stop catchy beats, and a world of strange, funny, and bizarre sounds all with her body. She was truly a treat.

While obviously not having a plot or characters (in the usual theatrical sense), the show still presented the viewer with themes, or perhaps lessons, to ponder and listen to. This was delivered in ways that one can assume are the same for every show; the semi-scripted opening, and closing numbers, and were overall enthusiastic calls for big ideas such as unity and love. Some of the messages also came from suggestions and related, implementing similar calls for a kinder world, and encouragement to "protest!" At times it could feel performative and a bit shallow, especially when taken in the context of hip-hop's origins and original radical nature.

And while not taking away from the entertainment factor the show felt almost pacified- while clearly taking on some political issues, the show veered from anything too nuanced or rocking the boat too much. It seemed very aware of its image, and an extension of that of its very famous creators and production comedy. It was indeed hip-hop, but lacked the edge and counter-cultural atmosphere that started the genre.

In a similar vein, throughout the show, there were many references and allusions to the show Hamilton, and In The Heights, which delighted some viewers, but felt a bit like they were cashing in on something, as though the show couldn't stand without being tied to Lin-Manuel's other works, which is definitely not the case, the show was incredibly strong.

The visual world of the show was meticulously created: with quite a beautiful wall of all types of speakers, gramophones, boom boxes, etc as the main piece of decor (besides some stools) on the stage (scenic design by Beowulf Borit). In front of that was a very large neon sign of the group's logo, which was quite eye-catching and tastefully designed. It was lit internally and externally, often changing colors with the music, and interacting or syncing up with all the other spotlights, etc, which were designed and improvised during the show by Jeff Croiter, which with the smoothness of the lighting, is quite the impressive feat.

The visuals do take a turn however when it came to the costumes (designed by Lisa Zinni). While some of the costumes were totally neutral (Curtis Jackson wore a graphic t-shirt and jeans), others were a bit, well, costume-y.

Several performers were dressed in garb that seemed to be trying very hard to read as hip-hop, resulting in something resembling a rentable 90s "rapper" costume. It could be understood that these ensembles are trying to evoke the 90's culture that hip-hop was born in but it was just a bit over the top and did not feel genuine.

Situated in the same place throughout the show, yet anything but static, were the two musicians who accompanied the lyricists. Simone Acosta (Sims) and James Rushin (Shifty Hills) both contributed to the music, sights, and sounds with their large array of various keyboards which they used expertly.

A great moment in the show was a hip-hop allusion to Hava Nagila after an audience member recalled a story having to do with the Jewish holiday Passover. Both instrumentalists were quick and didn't miss a beat.

Freestyle Love Supreme provided a night of fun, laughs, and antics, and definitely creates a live audience experience. It is engaging and paced well, and each new show provides a different experience. Information on tickets, including open captioning and student deals, can be found on the Kennedy Center's website at kennedy-center.org.

All photo credits go to Joan Marcus.

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