5/5 Evelyn Maria G. 1 year ago on Google
NO
NEED
to
take
the
train
into
NYC
this
weekend
for
a
theater
experience!
Instead
snatch
tickets
to
VANGUARD
THEATER’s
incredibly
staged
and
expertly
directed
“Passing
Strange,”a
deeply-moving
coming
of
age
story
written
over
ten
years
ago
and
before
Lin
Manuel
Miranda
courageously
explored
race
reversal
in
Hamilton.
Written
by
a
playwright
known
simply
as
STEW
(like
Madonna,
someone
explained)
PASSING
STRANGE
calls
for
a
powerhouse
ensemble
to
beautifully
and
lyrically
morph
—
right
before
your
eyes—
into
Dutch/European
artists.
Vanguard
actors
and
the
dialect
coach
NATALIE
JONES
take
it
to
another
level.
Smack
in
the
middle
of
Amsterdam,
followed
with
a
trip
to
Berlin
is
where
you
land.
When
the
cool
and
free-wheeling
Bohemians
attempt
to
“box”
the
main
character
(played
exquisitely
by
Glenfield
Alum
Jason
Tyler
Smith)
around
his
Blackness
with
a
silly
question
not
even
worth
repeating,
YOUTH,
(Smith)
patiently
replies
to
his
Dutch
hosts:”Do
you
live
in
a
windmill
and
wear
clogs?”
The
tone
and
delivery
of
just
this
one
line
will
do
much
to
heal
anyone
who
has
experienced
this
type
of
insult.
Smith’s
mastery
of
our
wandering
hero
and
overall
performance
delivery
is
generous;
he
nails
the
sometimes
confused
and
sporadically
self-centered
Youth
without
overpowering
the
ensemble.
Better,
Smith
gets
us
to
root
for
Youth
as
he
explores
love
and
experimentation.
The
Dutch
characters
,
btw,
do
not
wear
clogs
—but,
COLLABORATIVELY
transport
you
to
guilt/angst-ridden
post-post
WW2
Europe
where
actor
Lawrence
Danridge
wraps
Josephine
Baker
and
Bob
Fosse
into
one
performance,
followed
by
a
painful
history
lesson
on
brutality
and
ethnic
invisibility.
You
can’t
miss
this!
AND
…you
can’t
miss
the
one
man
Greek
Chorus
,
Dwayne
Clark.
(I
can’t
say
more
on
this
without
a
spoiler!
)
The
last
leg
of
Youth’s
journey
(led
gleefully,
yet
poignantly
by
J’Royce
Jata,
Amanda
Rose
Gross
and
A’ja
Desormeau
)
transports
you
back
to
Youth’s
home
and
church-fearing
mother
(
played
movingly
by
Brandi
Chavonne
Massey
)
for
a
universal
finale
experienced,
in
one
form
or
another,
by
all
of
us!
How
a
small
Montclair-based
theater
accomplished
these
transports
will
leave
you
breathless!
Meeting
JANEECE
FREEMAN
CLARK
left
me
star-struck.
I
had
to
pull
myself
together
before
asking
the
multi-talented
actors
to
sign
my
program.
(You
folks
were
so
incredibly
patient
and
accommodating.)
THANK
YOU!!!
I
love
Montclair!
WEPA!
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