With his promising recent promotion, loyal best friend, and gorgeous new baby, Jeff Browning seems to be well on the way to living the life he’s always dreamed of. The acceptance of his application to a local organization — The World Knights — is almost assured, making him and his fragile wife, Michelle, members of a supportive community. Despite all he has, a deep sense of belonging remains a missing piece. True, the Knights are dangerously anti-Black, but Jeff doesn’t consider himself a bigot. He would never have called his dog a racist slur if he lived within hearing distance of a person of color. Yet Jeff is rocked to the core when his required DNA test reveals he is 14% Subsaharan African.
These events unfold in the first few scenes of Amerikin, a new work by Chisa Hutchinson presented by Primary Stages. With its highly provocative and uncomfortable themes, it’s no wonder this production became a target of the current administration and lost its NEA grant. But for those who enjoy their live performances dexterously delivered and dowsed with hot sauce, the play provides enough rousing dialogue and surprising twists.
Playwright Hutchinson has much that she wants to communicate and she uses both sharp wit and emotional intelligence to largely accomplish her goals. The simultaneous display of past and present makes for engaging storytelling. Well-earned laughter breaks up the mounting tension. The breaking of the fourth wall by several characters is a less effective short-cut and too frequently employed.
photo by Justin Swader
Housed primary in a perfectly scuffed up set by scenic designers Christopher Swader and Justin Swader, the production is shaped by intuitive director Jade King Carroll and a skillful acting ensemble. Daniel Abeles takes the lead in Act 1, imbuing Jeff with alternating waves of swagger and vulnerability. Act 2 is anchored by Victor Williams as a dauntless clear-eyed Black Washington Post reporter, Gerald, and Amber Reauchean Williams as his self-assured college age daughter, Chris. The seasoned political journalist is looking for a fresh angle, preferable one that is Instagrammable. Chris’s life has been more profoundly impacted by the execrating pace of police brutality against her race. Their banter-filled car rides between D.C. and Jeff’s home in small-town Maryland compellingly illuminate a generational divide and are highlights of the script.
The outsiders are the ones who bring the schism between Jeff’s sense of self and harsh reality into focus. Additionally, Tobias Segal as best friend “Poot” is sweetly well meaning, expressing what many in the audience are thinking. His character is a welcome counterbalance to Luke Robertson’s solid but offensive sponsor, Dylan. His “Black Labs Matter” T-shirt (costumes by Jen Caprio) says it all. Jeff’s wife and ex-girlfriend, portrayed by Molly Carden and Andrea Syglowski respectively, are plot-fillers written with limited range.
Amerikin is to be praised both as a springboard for productive and thoughtful conversation as well as an evening of quality ensemble acting. The program notes contain several warnings including discussion of postpartum depression and suicidal ideation and the ending is so punishing it diminishes what came before. Runtime is 2 hours plus a 15 minute intermission. Performances continue through April 13 as part of the AMPLIFY Festival being celebrated at 59e59 Theaters at 59 East 59th Street. Tickets begin at $66 and can be purchased at https://www.59e59.org/shows/show-detail/amerikin/#show-info. In honor of their founding year, Primary Stages has also made $19.84 lottery tickets available through the TodayTix app for every performance.
The Unforgettable Line 
Halfway Bitches Go Straight To Heaven
No one creates moments that are simultaneously unsettling and humorous quite like Stephen Adly Guirgis. Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven is his first play since being awarded the Pulitzer in 2015 for Between Riverside and Crazy. This new work is a snapshot of the struggling residents of a New York City halfway house, surrounded by an unwelcoming neighborhood and staffed by those whose lifestyles aren’t much healthier. It’s a sprawling script with over a dozen main characters to track. Many of the transactional relationships include elements of genuine affection and the ride is a profound one. Ultimately, though, it is not so much a tapestry as a sewing kit with each thread slightly touching the one beside it.
As the play opens, a group session is in progress. This initial conversation hits many predictable beats — drug use, sexual exploitation, and abuse — but also provides a quick introduction to the characters with whom we’ll spend the next three hours. We learn Queen Sugar (Benja Kay Thomas) has gotten caught up in an Amway-style pyramid scheme while Munchies (Pernell Walker) is preoccupied with Nigerian caregiver Mr. Mobo (Neil Tyrone Pritchard). There are glimpses of Wanda Wheels’ (Patrice Johnson Chevannes) elegance, the stranglehold that mentally ill mother Sonia (Wilemina Olivia Garcia) has over her bright daughter Tiana (Viviana Valeria), and the familiar relationship pattern fragile Bella (Andrea Syglowski) is recreating with lesbian in command Sarge (Liza Colón-Zayas). Always quick to say, “no,no,no” is Rockaway Rosie (Elizabeth Canavan). Taking center stage at the top is the clever rapper Little Melba Diaz (Kara Young). In the corner is morbidly obese Betty (Kristina Poe) whose surprise connection and subsequent blossoming is a highlight. And on the edge (and on edge) is the transgendered Venus Ramirez (a glorious Esteban Andres Cruz) a ferocious voice for those who insist on their rightful place. That list doesn’t include the rest of the staff compassionately portrayed by Victor Almazar, David Anzuelo, Sean Carajal, Molly Collier and Elizabeth Rodriguez.
Elizabeth Canavan ( Rockaway Rosie ), Liza Colón – Zayas ( Sarge ), Kara Young ( Lil Melba Diaz ) and Pernell Walker ( Munchies ). Photo Credit/ Monique Carboni.
As with other Guirgis plays, a subtle but clear picture of the outside world is also drawn. The city’s system is failing and the shortages of both supplies and care are making these lives unnecessarily challenging. A flock of goats tending the grass in a park uptown receives more devotion and support than any of the humans who are simply looking for a chance.
To hold all these tales, a skeleton of the tenement house dominates the set. The sparsely decorated central room of Narelle Sissons’ design also represents the office of the dedicated and overworked manager and occasionally the bedroom of an occupant. The area between the first row and the stage serves as the surrounding alleyways. Director John Ortiz places much of the action on the house front steps audience left and a bench audience right making the viewing experience a bit like a tennis match. Additional focus is achieved with lighting design by Mary Louise Geiger while the mood rises and falls with sound and compositions by Elisheba Ittoop.
Haunting and moving, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven is like taking in a gallery filled with the faces of those whom New Yorkers breeze past every day. Though their full stories are not on the display, the images will sear into you. Note that the material is strictly adult, containing nudity and simulated sex and drug use. The limited engagement co-produced by LAByrinth Theater Company has already been extended through Sunday, January 5. Regular tickets begin at $70 and are available online at atlantictheater.org, by calling OvationTix at 866-811-4111, or in person at the Linda Gross Theater box office (336 West 20th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues).