It’s not a musical per se. But the 11 songs, mostly African American spirituals, spread throughout Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “Choir Boy” are downright thrilling.
Sung a cappella by the performers—six of whom play the members of the choir at a Black boys’ prep school–they’re accompanied by heart-poundingly vibrant choreography.
But the 2012 drama, directed for Shotgun Players by Darryl V. Jones, is equally adept at telling a story: The choir’s lead singer, a smart, talented and ambitious scholarship kid, Pharus (William Schmidt), is gay and must deal with bullying by a classmate as well as conform to the school’s various rules.
Above all, Pharus wants to be chosen to sing at his upcoming graduation. Singing, he says, is one of the few—“oh so few!”—things that mean anything to him.
But he must be on good behavior until then—his “wrist and swish,” he knows, give him away, and he’s not the shy, retiring type.
His nemesis is pugnacious legacy student Bobby (Miles Meckling), the nephew of the school’s sympathetic, conflicted headmaster (Fred Pitts). From the very first scene, Bobby taunts Pharus, using the forbidden n-word.
There’s so much packed into this two-hour play (wisely performed here without intermission), and McCraney draws us in so slowly, with gorgeous music, introducing the players—Pharus’ sympathetic roommate, A.J. (Wesley Barker), the quiet and devout Christian, David (Omar Stewart) and a few others, including a new (white) teacher, played by Malcolm B. Rodgers, whose inner conflict is particularly convincing. Before you know it, you can find yourself sympathizing with all of these struggling souls.
And Pharus’ coming-of-age journey during this final year before his graduation becomes increasingly fraught.
Yes, the songs and Aejay Antonis Marquis’ heart-poundingly intense choreography do part of the heavy lifting. How can you not be moved by “I Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray” or “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”? (Some of these boys, fending for themselves at sleepaway school, clearly do feel motherless.) Or what about the way these actors, under Jones’ fine-tuned direction, seem to be absolutely transported at times?
Yes, the boys are played by fully developed adults, not the teenagers McCraney envisioned. It’s a struggle at times to remember, for example, that Schmidt’s Pharus, self-assured as he seems at times, is meant to be just a kid.
But McCraney’s writing, the music (directed by Daniel Alley), the remarkable choreography and the intensity of the ensemble seals the deal. This Shotgun show is deeply moving.
Shotgun Players’ “Choir Boy” continues through Oct. 26 at Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. Tickets are $28-$40 at Shotgunplayers.org.
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