
Is life sweet when you live in the Louisiana Bayou before an unprecedented storm hits? For Marcus (Eric L. Fleming), life at 16 years of age is not only sweet, but also secretively sweet. This young man embraces the following: His true sexuality, questions from his best friends, steamy fantasies in Latin class, others’ recollections of his deceased father, typical neighborhood run-ins, and an intuitive phenomenon. It is impossible for this teenager to have a dull moment, and equally impossible for the audience of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s MARCUS, OR THE SECRET OF SWEET to be bored. Heavy language throughout the play blends with Yoruban god names for each character. Warning: The names all sound strikingly similar.
The confusion over names and the commotion and deep love Marcus experiences breed a sweet, chaotic, surrounding swirl of emotion. Watching, we feel as though we are stuck in the intense precursor winds of an impending storm. As the character Ogun (James Tolbert III) explains, “Like every man, we all got the ability of being alive.” Marcus and his crew will make you think, feel, and look at “the ability of being alive” in astoundingly new ways. October 24-November 3, 2013, playsandplayers.org. Tickets.
Extras
- MARCUS is part three of McCraney’s Brother/Sister Plays trilogy. Simpatico Theatre Project is concurrently staging part two. Read the Phindie review of THE BROTHERS SIZE.
- Director Daniel Student and Simpatico creative team James Ijames and Allen Radway consider McCraney and his trilogy.
- Interview with Daniel Student about McCraney, the trilogy, and MARCUS.
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