“Show the spectrum of black male existence.” Photo courtesy of Thoughts of a Colored Man.
THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN HOW TO
How to craft a happy ending from this? The play, through Depression, states something that should not be radical, or that should even need to be said, but sadly does, and emphatically, “All we ever wanted was to be ourselves… to live.Thoughts of a Colored Man playwright Keenan Scott (far left), actor Luke James (front left), and actor Tristan ‘Mack’ Wilds (front center) hosting a youth and community event at the Caste Hill YMCA in the Bronx and the North Brooklyn YMCA, where community members can receive a free haircut at a mobile barbershop.
There is a tragedy in the play, which leads to a powerful final discussion about the fragility of Black men’s lives. I feel like I’ve always been stuck between these two worlds.” Happiness and Depression have a moving conversation about their very different lives and come to an understanding, with Happiness seeing in Depression “a connection to community. Meanwhile, the solid and dependable Anger coaches kids basketball, hoping to keep ambitions and hope alive. “Everyone wants to be Black-,” says Love, “Until it’s time to be Black,” finishes Lust. “People have actually told me I wasn’t black enough because I didn’t ‘struggle.’ Why is struggling synonymous with being Black?” says Happiness. The play gives space to a plurality of views and experiences-this is thought-provoking, but sometimes so bite-sized this critic wanted to stay longer with the characters themselves. What should he say or do? When another character voices homophobia, he is in the minority-gently but emphatically put in his place by Wisdom, the barber. His confusion is both humorous and serious. The set-piece that got the biggest response at the performance this critic attended saw all the men at the barbershop, where things first started getting salty when Lust opined that “Lebron is better than Kobe.” Then a larger debate about gentrification unfolds, with most of the men decrying the market forces, and subsequent rich-person influx, that they see as taking their community away from them.Īs the men talk about what body parts they prefer on women, the action freezes, as Happiness breaks the fourth wall to tell us how uncomfortable this always made him feel-being a gay man around this kind of stuff. A well-off director of finance, he is brimming with cheer about all the shiny transformations he is able to enjoy and spend money on in his new neighborhood. Most of the characters feel left behind and disenfranchised by change-except Happiness, who we first meet on his zesty morning jog. Lust can’t believe the woman he’s cruising on the street is actually called Karen.
Longtime friends Love and Lust-one proudly romantic, the other leerily carnal-mull how much they want to get laid, and what intimacy means while Lust wants to “smash,” Love wants to seduce. Maybe I don’t know it, because you’re screaming from across the store… lady I’m not your husband.” And I truly apologize if I don’t know the price of the random item that you’re holding up above your head from 200 feet away. He imagines telling a typical customer: “I’m sorry ma’am if the products we sell aren’t good enough for your stuck-up ass. (which he humbly doesn’t advertise), though has chosen to stay in the neighborhood because of family commitments.
THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN FULL
He has attained a full scholarship to M.I.T. Depression works in a local Whole Foods, a symbol of gentrification.
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