Another "World Premiere" opened recently on the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Octagon stage for a very limited run: it closes on June 8. -- Donnetta Lavinia Grays's Kudzu Calling was commissioned by ASF after its generation during 2018's "State of the South Tour" whose goal was to investigate the South's complex and complicated identity. Her response is: a "Black, queer, and faith-filled" identity that all find their way into her play as it makes its debut appropriately during "Pride Month".
Her ensemble of six actors, directed by Kevin R. Free, traverse Riw Rakkulchon's multi-leveled abstract set to tell the story of a Wanderer [Kanoa Sims] in her quest for "belonging" in a South that has heretofore placed many obstacles in her way; she is met by five spirit-guides, all named simply as trees that have deep roots in the South, and who will show her by their experiences that ultimately she can have the strength to celebrate her identity and be accepted, as well as to invite audiences to acknowledge and accept any and all of their fellows.
Told in a series of poetic monologues and short scenes that are enhanced by many music genres and the accompanying dance movements of the cast, Ms. Grays reflects ntozake shange's 1976 "choreopoem" for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf that recounts in poetry, music, and dance the oppression of Black women in a racist and sexist society, only this time "queerness" and "Southernness" and "spirituality" complete her equation.
It is a tight ensemble; Aisha De Haas, Terrance Henderson, Nafeesa Monroe, Terrence Williams, Jr., and Achille Vann Ricca support Ms. Sims and one another confidently and with a noticeable sincerity and commitment to Ms. Grays's scripted intentions. -- There is a fluidity in their expressive movements and vocal clarity that brings home the message: that everyone can find a home in the South.
