Post-Racial? Not Really. Woolly Mammoth's "Ain't No Mo'," reviewed for WCP

Shannon Matesky, Brandi Porter, Shannon Dorsey, and Breon Arzell in Jordan E. Cooper’s post-”post racial” satire. (DJ Corey/Woolly Mammoth)

“I quote [director Lil-Anne Brown] to acknowledge that, as a White person born during the Carter administration, I am by no means the primary audience for this, and that my modest critique must and shall be taken with a grain (or possibly a mine) of salt. For what it’s worth: I liked the show a lot. Cooper is a visionary writer, equal parts Jordan Peele and Tony Kushner.” That’s me on Jordan E. Cooper’s Broadway-bound satire Ain’t No Mo’ in the Washington City Paper.

Theatre of Pain: Woolly's "Gloria" and Round House's "Small Mouth Sounds," reviewed.

Megan Graves and Ahmad Kamal are two of the standout performers in Gloria. (Teresa Castracane)

After the customary late summer lull, I’m back on the theater beat. Last week’s Washington City Paper featured my reviews of two plays that first appeared in 2015, now making their regional premieres Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ stunner Gloria, at Woolly Mammoth, and Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl, at Round House.

FURTHER READING: My 2013 City Paper profile of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is here.

The Hateful Eighth: An Octoroon and To Tell My Story: A Hamlet Fanfic, reviewed.

Erika Rose and Kathryn Tkel in An Octoroon (Woolly Mammoth).

My review of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company remount of An Octoroon, the best show I saw in 2016, is here. I should've credited Gwydion Suilebhan (a Woolly staffer, though I've known him longer than he's been on payroll there) for the observation in paragraph four about police body cameras; I couldn't swear I would've thought of that if he hadn't mentioned it to me when we were chatting after the show. He's a playwright and a very smart guy, so if you're going to pilfer ideas, he's a good victim. Also, the 2016 cast isn't quite "fully intact" like I said in paragraph three; Felicia Curry is new to the remount.

I also reviewed To Tell My Story: A Hamlet Fanfic, the latest literary comedy from Washington Post humor columnist Alexandra Petri.

FURTHER READING: My 2013 profile of An Octoroon playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Appropriates His Past

 (Darrow Montgomery/WCP)

My profile of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, whose play Appropriate opens at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company tomorrow night, is in today's Washington City Paper. He says he's rewritten it since I saw its premiere at the Humana Festival of New American Plays last April, so I'm curious to see what's changed.  

Read all about it.