THE HANGOVER REPORT – Aziza Barnes’ riotous BLKS is a play of intoxicating contradictions and one of the funniest shows in town

Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Paige Gilbert, and Alfie Fuller in Aziza Barnes' "BLKS" at MCC Theater. Photo by Deen van Meer.

Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Paige Gilbert, and Alfie Fuller in Aziza Barnes’ “BLKS” at MCC Theater. Photo by Deen van Meer.

This past weekend, I caught Aziza Barnes’ new play BLKS Off-Broadway. The work was previously seen at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, where it was well received. Ms. Barnes’ play makes its New York debut courtesy of MCC Theater, whose new home in Hell’s Kitchen still smells of fresh paint. Taking place over the course of a single day, BLKS tells the eventful comedic story of three girlfriends trying to find love and purpose as young, smart black women living in New York.

In Ms. Barnes, the theater world has found a fresh, striking new voice. BLKS is a play of intoxicating contradictions, despite its deceptively straightforward premise. Yes, it’s riotously hilarious; the playwright has a spiky sense of humor that’s unafraid to get raw and rowdy. In fact, I don’t think I’ve laughed so consistently through a show since, well, I really can’t remember when. However, the play also more than merely suggests the deep existential angst simmering just underneath the spicy personalities of these women as they navigate their blackness in today’s world. Ms. Barnes writes with a disarmingly punch drunk sense of outrageousness, heart, and dissonant musicality that’s irresistibly exposing.

The New York premiere production has been directed by Robert O’Hara – himself a notable playwright – with a gregariousness that compliments Ms. Barnes’ play beautifully. He’s also unafraid to get down and dirty as the play itself does. Of particular note is his fluid and quirky use of a turntable (the set design is by the ubiquitous Clint Ramos), which brilliantly follows the staccato rhythms the text. As the three young women, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Alfie Fuller, and Paige Gilbert are simply sensational, giving performances that immediately jump to compelling, animated life. They do full justice to the juicy, complex, and intelligent women they portray – warts and all.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

BLKS
Off-Broadway, Play
MCC Theater
1 hour, 40 minutes (without an intermission)
Through June 2

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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