During its brief Broadway run in 2022, the satirical powerhouse Ain’t No Mo—a multiple Tony Award nominee—uses vignettes of the current situation of Black America to explore who is ready to leave, who wants to stay, and the importance of standing up for what has been established.
Image courtesy of Casey Gardner Ford
Image courtesy of Casey Gardner Ford
It’s an excellent query. While Black individuals who have integrated and become wealthy may consider if it makes sense to give up what they have earned, those who are incarcerated may see leaving the country as a chance to start over.
And what if people who look like you have never shown you support because you are homosexual or transgender? Do you accompany them or do you remain where you are?
Although the choices are serious, the production manages them with outrageous humor that is at once terrible, embarrassing, and enlightening.
A segment called The Real Baby Mamas of the Southside, for example, exaggerates the clichés of Black women on reality TV as being loud, conceited, and unaware that they are the target of the joke. As absurd as it sounds, Sierra Nicolette Smith plays a character akin to Rachel Dolezal, who maintains that she can go from being a white lady to a Black woman because it is her truth.
Even those who seek to amuse and degrade an audience are susceptible to manipulation themselves, as the show’s director demonstrates when she chastises one of the women for failing to utilize ebonics to support her argument.
No one is coming to save the community, according to the play. The flight out of the country is being piloted by former President Barack Obama. Co-pilot for him? Kamala Harris, former vice president.
Peaches (Jason Jamal Ligon), the gate agent boarding passengers on African American Airlines Flight 1619 headed for Senegal, advises passengers to be kind because she has already vowed to ignore them if they are carrying marijuana.
Such moments can be difficult to balance. WriterThe youngest Black playwright in Broadway history, Jordan E. Cooper, wants us to laugh despite extremely painful situations. The audience at the review show I went to seemed tense as headlines about the Trump administration’s and the courts’ efforts to restrict American rights flashed over the speakers.
This produces a yo-yo effect that can make Ain’t No Mo feel both joyful and depressing at different points in time. When the reasons for a Black exodus are brought up again, there are musical allusions to Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige, and even the theme from The Golden Girls.
Image courtesy of Casey Gardner Ford
Image courtesy of Casey Gardner Ford
A small but incredibly brilliant cast, which includes the previously mentioned Smith and Ligon as well as Amber A. Harris, Candice Marie Singleton, Tequilla Whitfield, and Jay Jones, helps to ease the dichotomy. Each performs distinct parts in the vignettes, showing off their dramatic and humorous abilities.
As the play’s narrator, Ligon seems to enjoy her role the most. As Peaches, Ligon has the difficult job of standing by himself on stage in between the episodes and convincing the audience that he is speaking to passengers. As the play’s guide, he leads the invisible spectators on their journey while feeling hopeful, frustrated, and conflicted.
During the introduction, Jones presides as a no-holds-barred minister over the death of Right to Complain, one of his other noteworthy moments. When Obama became the country’s first Black president on November 4, 2008, Right to Complain, a metaphor for Black people’s generations of angst, died. As playwright Cooper notes, or so we believed.)
“There will be no more riots, suffering, Emmett Tills, stop and frisk, and white people double-locking their car doors when they just saw you drive up in a car they can’t even afford,” Jones, the minister, who isn’t afraid to use colorful language in front of the congregation, jokes.
Harris’ portrayal of Black, the physical representation of the self that some Black people avoid on their path to achievement, is equally striking. Watch her go around the stage and give a quick description of the type of Black person she is: Call Tyrone Black, Theo Huxtable Black, O.J. didn’t do it Black, O.J. did it Black.
The decision to stay or go is ultimately up to the person, according to Ain’t No Mo. There are several factors at play, and it is quite alluring to escape the ugly state of the United States now. However, Black America has made significant investments, and it is critical that we safeguard them. Can we? is the query.
A REVIEW OF THE THEATRE
It’s not Mo
Through August 24, Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company will be performing. There are discounts available, and the starting price is $60. 84 Luckie St., Atlanta; Balzer Theater.truecolorstheatre.org.
Thanks to ArtsATL
Thanks to ArtsATL
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