Displaying items by tag: J Nicole Brooks

Like the dream deferred in Langston Hughes' poem that inspired its title, Court Theatre's latest production of "A Raisin in the Sun" simmers, sags, and occasionally explodes with raw intensity. Director Gabrielle Randel-Bent's contemporary vision crackles with urgency, even as it wrestles with the delicate balance between modern resonance and historical authenticity.

Andrew Boyce's masterful set design emerges as the production's crowning achievement. His deconstructed Chicago kitchenette apartment becomes a character itself – a cramped urban cage where privacy is as scarce as hope. The shared bathroom, visible just beyond the family's domain, serves as a constant reminder of the Youngers' station in life. Outside the city of Chicago pushing its way in threatening to devour the inhabitants in grit and grime.

The stellar ensemble breathes fierce life into Hansberry's beloved characters. Shanesia Davis anchors the production as family matriarch Lena Younger, while Brian Keys brings explosive energy to Walter Lee – though his visible tattoos create an unfortunate distraction that pulls us from the 1950s setting. Martasia Jones commands the stage as Beneatha, imbuing the aspiring doctor with a perfect blend of youthful idealism and sharp intellect. Her scenes of intellectual sparring sizzle with wit and passion, though the choice to smoke cigarettes in Mama's apartment strikes an implausible note in an otherwise masterful performance.

Kierra Bunch brings a quiet strength to Ruth Younger, crafting a deeply nuanced portrait of a woman stretched to her breaking point. Her scenes with Walter Lee pulse with complicated history – love and resentment, hope and exhaustion all tangled together. When she finally breaks down over her pregnancy, the moment is devastating in its restraint. Her joy is unbridled when she learns of the family's plan to buy a home.

Charles Andrew Gardner brings the perfect presence to George Murchison, making the most of his limited stage time. His polished demeanor and cutting wit provide the perfect foil for Beneatha's revolutionary spirit, while hints of vulnerability beneath his assured exterior add welcome complexity to what could have been a one-note character.

J. Nicole Brooks steals her scene as the nosy neighbor Mrs. Johnson, delivering gossip and judgment with such gleeful spite that you can't help but love to hate her. Her brief appearance provides crucial comic relief while underlining the community's complicated relationship with social mobility.

Julian Parker's Bobo's locs hairstyle is out of place for the time. It's distracting and makes it hard to believe Walter Lee would trust him with his dream of business ownership.

While the performances ground the production in emotional truth, Randel-Bent's modernizing choices create an intriguing tension between past and present, sometimes to the detriment of Hansberry's carefully crafted world.

Raquel Adorna's costume choices prove particularly puzzling: Joseph Asagai (Eliott Johnson) appears more Wall Street than West Africa when we first meet him in his Brooks Brothers-esque suit. At the same time, Karl Lindner (Vincent Teninty) inexplicably dons plumber's attire instead of the more historically and dramatically appropriate business suit of a "welcoming committee" representative. Young Travis (Jeremias Darville) sports an out-of-place cowboy ensemble, making him seem too old for both the outfit and the role as well as being an unlikely splurge for a family counting pennies.

Willow James' sound design walks a delicate tightrope between past and present, largely succeeding until a jarringly anachronistic moment when Walter Lee and Ruth dance to Chaka Khan's "Sweet Thing" – a choice that catapults us decades ahead of the play's setting.

“A Raisin in the Sun" hits different today than it did in 1959, but its truths cut just as deep. Sure, the Younger family's dream of owning a home in a white neighborhood might look different in 2025, but their story - fighting against systemic barriers, sacrificing for family, and refusing to let hope die - that's as real now as ever. The play nails something timeless about the American Dream: how it promises everything but keeps moving the goalposts for some folks. When Mama tends to that struggling plant, she's not just growing a flower. She's showing us how Black families keep pushing forward, generation after generation, despite the odds. Whether it's redlining in the '50s or today's housing discrimination Hansberry's message rings true: dreams don't come easy, but they're worth fighting for. That's why this play still packs theaters - it's not just history, it's tomorrow's headlines.

RECOMMENDED

When: Through March 9   *Extended through March 23rd

Where: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.

Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes

Tickets: $58 - $100.00 Student, Group and military discounts available

773-753-4472

www.Courttheatre.org

If you follow the Chicago theater scene, you’ve likely heard about local playwright Ike Holter. His Rightlynd series has been appearing in near rapid succession at various theatre companies around town. The Rightlynd saga concludes its seven-play series at the Goodman in a new play called 'Lottery Day'. Accomplished local director, Lili-Ann Brown and a cast of entirely Chicago faces make this production an authentic experience.If you follow the Chicago theater scene, you’ve likely heard about local playwright Ike Holter. His Rightlynd series has been appearing in near rapid succession at various theatre companies around town. The Rightlynd saga concludes its seven-play series at the Goodman in a new play called 'Lottery Day'. Accomplished local director, Lili-Ann Brown and a cast of entirely Chicago faces make this production an authentic experience.

Rightlynd is a fictional ward on Chicago's south side that has undergone many changes as a result of gentrification. In 'Lottery Day' many characters from the rest of Holter's plays gather for a final barbeque in matriarchal character Mallory's (J. Nicole Brooks) backyard. This isn’t just any barbeque for Mallory, she's decided to play a little game with her ten guests. One of them will leave with a large sum of money. 

'Lottery Day' plays out like peak-era Edward Albee. The structure of the game and the poetic ways Holter's characters play verbal tennis make this a satisfying watch. Often playwrights miss the real spirit of Chicago. Holter hits Chicago life on the head for anyone who's spent a good chunk of time living here. That spirit is further distilled through the lens of particularly underserved citizens. Local references don't feel clunky or jammed in. These are conversations you'd really hear. 

An all Chicago cast gives this play an edge. Here are actors who are not only familiar with each other but have a palpable chemistry. Within minutes of McKenzie Chinn's entrance as Cassandra, she shares a touching moment with Mallory. A simple gesture of affection feels so real that it makes you misty. Sydney Charles takes most of the laughs as Zora, but again, her scenes with Chinn feel so real you'll want more. There's not a bad performance on this stage. This cast is having so much fun together, it's almost an invitation for the audience to join their party. 

'Lottery Day' is an exciting moment in Chicago theatre. It seemed like everyone in the intimate Owen space was having a good time. The laughs and celebration of Chicago, as well as urban life, create a sense of community in the two-and-a-half-hour production. Those with a deep knowledge of pop culture and theatre in general will find plenty of shout outs to chuckle about. See this play if for no other reason than it will give you compassion for everyone you encounter in a day in this unique city. 'Lottery Day' is a love letter to a Chicago we are losing year by year as neighborhoods go from bad to "safe". 

Through April 28th at Goodman Theatre. 170 N Dearborn. 312-444-3821

Death Tax by playwright Lucas Hnath is about a wealthy 70-something woman who believes that her daughter is paying off her nurse to kill her before the New Year's death tax kicks in thereby reducing her inheritance significantly. When the play opens, Maxine, played ferociously if not sympathetically by Tony Award winner, Deanna Dunnagan states a truism that I found touching, about the fact that people who have money late in life are "preserved" while those that do not have money are not "preserved."

Dunnagan is absolutely riveting, and beautiful to look at. Even her hand gestures resemble those of a ballerina, very sparing and graceful.

I had hoped that the play would demonstrate more of the very real danger to senior citizens who find themselves deteriorating physically and mentally due to subpar care because of their financial situations, as this happens every day in this country and indeed many elder citizen's deaths are hastened for financial reasons. Unfortunately, Maxine's delusions and combative personality which are common in patients with dementia are treated as the main problem instead of the system of health care in this country that often pits patients and family against the nursing home or hospital in a race to save money or make money off the dying person.

There are several great, rapid fire speeches in the play for all four actors, and Louise Lamson as her hapless estranged daughter, and J. Nicole Brooks, as the nurse Maxine attempts to bribe into her loyalty do a great job delivering them in a way that makes the audience constantly ask themselves, "What would I do in that situation?'”

Hnath is a popular young writer at the moment with two plays in production at once, but in this play he misses the mark when he chooses to make Maxine the villain of the piece. However, there is not enough warmth either in the characters or the staging that cause you to really care much what happens to each character. Instead we are asked to believe that a nurse and her supervisor would easily accept large bribes from an obviously paranoid and overmedicated patient without thinking they would be caught. 

Overall this was still a compelling, quickly moving piece of theatre that raises many important questions about how aging Americans are placed at the mercy of their relatives and caregivers at the very time they need support the most.

Death Tax is playing at Lookingglass Theatre through October 12^th. You can find out more about tickets and other dhow information at www.lookingglasstheatre.org.