Written by Robert O’Hara
Directed by Margo Hall
September 26 to November 11, 2017
Reviewed by Christine Okon
Bright lights glare down on a rundown urban patch of flattened grass, a bent and rusty safety fence, a beat up grill and the parks-and-rec-issue brutalist concrete washroom that sets the stage for Robert O’Hara’s Barbecue, directed by Margo Hall, to launch SF Playhouse’s 15th season.
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Marie (Teri Whipple), James T (Clive Worsley), and Adlean (Jennie Brick) express reservations about the planned intervention |
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Lillie Anne (Halili Knox*, right) explains to Adlean (Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe), James T (Adrian Roberts*), and Marie (Kehinde Koyejo*) how an intervention works |
Blackout again and lights up, but this time the characters are black. Whaa? Why? We’re intrigued. The same action continues but with a different pace and energy, and we are drawn into this extended story of a family trying to support one of their own. The juxtaposition of white and black families in the same situation has echoes of all those family sitcoms with familiar “types” like the sarcastic aunt, the snarky teenager, the doofus brother, and the do-gooder sister. The mirror-flip family forms a hilarious and vibrant unit,with Adrian Roberts as James T; Halili Knox as Lillie Anne; Edris Cooper-Aniforwoshe as Adlean; and Kehinde Koyejo as Marie trying to get ready for Barbara, played with powerful distinction by Margo Hall.
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Marie (Kehinde Koyejo*), Adlean (Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe), and James T (Adrian Roberts*) express skepticism |
The most powerful dynamic--indeed the fulcrum of the play--is between the two Barbaras, Susi Damilano and Margo Hall, partners in crime who match wits as they strike a deal that seems like, but is not really, a win-win.
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Margo Hall as Barbara |
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Susi Damilano as Barbara |
Barbecue skewers the forces of fabrication and deception in our society, leaving the audience perhaps a bit confused and uneasily entertained.
Photos by Jessica Palopoli
Barbecue
CAST
ADLEAN
Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe
Jennie Brick
BARBARA
Margo Hall
Susi Damilano
JAMES T
Clive Worsley
Adrian Roberts
LILLIE ANNE
Anne Darragh
Halili Knox
MARIE
Kehinde Koyejo
Teri Whipple
CREATIVE TEAM
Margo Hall
DIRECTOR
Bill English
SCENIC DESIGNER
Brooke Jennings
COSTUME DESIGNER
Cliff Caruthers
SOUND DESIGNER
Wen-Ling Liao
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Jacquelyn Scott
PROPERTIES DESIGNER
Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe
Jennie Brick
BARBARA
Margo Hall
Susi Damilano
JAMES T
Clive Worsley
Adrian Roberts
LILLIE ANNE
Anne Darragh
Halili Knox
MARIE
Kehinde Koyejo
Teri Whipple
CREATIVE TEAM
Margo Hall
DIRECTOR
Bill English
SCENIC DESIGNER
Brooke Jennings
COSTUME DESIGNER
Cliff Caruthers
SOUND DESIGNER
Wen-Ling Liao
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Jacquelyn Scott
PROPERTIES DESIGNER
SF Playhouse
450 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.677.9596
www.sfplayhouse.org
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