‘Death of Chuck Brown’ Makes Impressive World Premiere at American Players Theatre

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Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson

The Death of Chuck Brown - APT

Josh Krause, Nathan Barlow, Jonathan Gardner & Cedric G. Young, The Death of Chuck Brown.

It’s impossible to judge an entire season of shows based on having seen only three offerings at American Players Theatre, a theater complex nestled in the verdant landscape of Spring Green. However, of the three productions seen in mid-July by this reviewer, The Death of Chuck Brown stands out as the most remarkable accomplishment. The play continues through September 25 at the indoor Touchstone Theatre.

The show’s playwright and director, Gavin Dillon Lawrence, traces the lives of a handful of Black men on a spring day in 2012. The action takes place inside and outside of a neighborhood barber shop in Washington, D.C. The shop is owned by Kofi (David Alan Anderson).

Lawrence has contributed his talents to APT for more than a decade. Much of his script is based on Lawrence’s owns observations when revisiting his hometown. As cited by one of the characters, the nation’s capital was once known as “Chocolate City,” for the large number of Blacks who populated the area.

On this particular spring day, Kofi muses about the future of his business. Gentrification has intruded on the neighborhood, evident by the boutique coffee shop that just opened across the street. Meanwhile, the number of Black-owned businesses continues to dwindle. Most of Kofi’s customer base has relocated.

Ghost Town Barbershop

Kofi’s barbershop displays the solidity of a longstanding business. Two old-fashioned barber chairs sit in the middle of the shop. A faded, leatherette couch near the window offers comfort for waiting customers. There’s no television to be seen - only a “broke ass” radio (according to Sweep, Kofi’s friend since childhood and his employee). One also spies a large crack in the barber shop’s front window (set design by Lawrence E. Moten III).

Sweep (Nathan Barlow) and Kofi share their thoughts about the changing neighborhood. Sweep notes that the streets now “look like a ghost town.” About the only activity is the sound of police cars, sirens blaring, roaring up and down the street.

The future of Kofi’s barbershop is in doubt. Kofi remarks that he’s grateful that his 17-year-old son, Prince (Jonathan Gardner), has received a full scholarship to attend a prestigious private high school. Kofi wonders how to pay for Prince’s college when the time comes.

The overall mood inside the barbershop would probably be more upbeat except for the recent news that local legend Chuck Brown, the “godfather of go-go,” has died. (Brown was a real person, whose homegrown music was rarely known outside the city.) To Kofi and Sweep, his passing is a sign of the changing times. 

As Kofi and Sweep acknowledge Brown’s passing with an obligatory swig of whiskey, they also spin tales of the good times within these walls. Soon they are greeted by Prince, and one senses a friendly rivalry between father and adult son. It’s clear that Kofi has pinned his world on Prince’s success. Prince mentions Kendra (Alexa Christian), his girlfriend, who is also among the minority students attending the white Quaker school. “Grades first, love second,” Kofi counsels.

Bits of humor are scattered liberally throughout Lawrence’s text. As one of the characters notes: “Everyplace Black folks hang out (around here) is getting shut down—except the prison.”

Like many of the plays that have gone before it, Chuck Brown is a superb example of contemporary theater that almost surrounds the audience in its intimate space.

Lawrence Directs Two Noteworthy APT Shows

In addition to writing Chuck Brown, Lawrence has directed a number of shows at APT, including Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brothers Size and August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Some of Wilson’s skill at weaving a captivating story through dialogue has surely influenced Lawrence. The characters in Chuck Brown are vividly drawn and endearingly executed. Lawrence has noted in print that many of the characters in Chuck Brown are based on real people (in addition to Chuck Brown himself). In Lawrence’s skillful hands, this gives his characters a richer depth. They seem to know each other, as only members of one’s family are usually known.

In another nod to August Wilson, an elderly sage named Smitty comes and goes throughout the play. Smitty (Cedric G. Young) is known unofficially as the Prophet of Twelfth Street. His big moment comes in the second act, when Smitty reenacts a chilling episode in Black history. Smitty claims to be related to one of the 75 Africans who allegedly refused to enter bondage in 1803 at St. Simons Island, Ga. According to Smitty, they quietly strode back into the water, as if attempting to walk back to Africa. They chose to drown rather than live as enslaved people.  

Occasionally, a few newcomers step into the barbershop. One of them is Kendra’s mother, Sparkle (Shariba Rivers). She is smartly dressed (costumes by Haydee Zelideth) and displays the panache of a successful real estate agent. She is good-looking, and she knows it.

Sparkle encourages Kofi to either sell the barbershop or hang onto it in order to benefit from the rising market rates. The reason she stops by the barbershop is to arrange a future meeting, when the parents can discuss their children’s activism and how it is impacting their schoolwork.

Chuck Brown Uses Humor to Temper the Play’s More Serious Moments

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Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.

The Death of Chuck Brown - APT

Jonathan Gardner, Cedric G. Young & David Alan Anderson, The Death of Chuck Brown.

Another newcomer, Ricky (Josh Krause), is a young white dude who strolls casually into the shop. He is new in town and needs a haircut. Kofi and Sweep watch in disbelief at Ricky’s seemingly unruffled demeanor. It turns out that Ricky majored in African American history at Howard College, a school that Kofi also attended. He is planning to teach at a local university. As the barbershop’s wonky radio suddenly comes to life, the Black men – and Ricky – come together in rhythmic harmony (choreography by Victor Musoni). It is a hilarious scene, and one that will likely live in memory for quite a long time.

Even the play’s namesake, a ghostly Chuck Brown (La Shawn Banks as “Man in Cowboy Hat”), can be glimpsed from time to time.

Lawrence is adept at setting his characters in a specific time and place. Yet their dreams and goals, their strong feeling towards family and the power of education to lift oneself out of poverty, will resonate with all audiences. It must be noted that the play depicts violence and a gunshot. The play runs two hours and 15 minutes, with an intermission. Several of the play’s performances sold out soon after it opened, and limited tickets are still available for many performances. Those who do snag tickets to Chuck Brown should prepare themselves for a thrilling, heartfelt, gripping and often witty experience. One hopes to see future productions of this play performed soon, in Milwaukee and elsewhere. 

“The Death of Chuck Brown” runs through September 25 as part of the current season at American Players Theatre in Spring Green. For tickets, visit americanplayers.org, or call the box office at 608-588-2361.