A family gathers to mourn the loss of their patriarch. At the funeral, old wounds are reopened. Rivalries are renewed. Discoveries are made. And healing occurs. This is Chicken & Biscuits and it is currently playing at the Omaha Community Playhouse.
Douglas Lyons has written a nice little slice of life tale and he has a good grip on the nuances of family life with all of its intricacies and volatility. What I really appreciated about his work is how he elevated circumstances enough to make them funny, but still kept them incredibly believable. I also thought his inversion of the length formula really kept a tight grip on his storytelling. By that I mean that, traditionally, first acts are the longest and successive acts are shorter. In this story, he has a very short first act which he utilized to introduce the characters and their issues and relationships, then used a longer second act to get the chemistry going as the characters began to really interact with each other.
Tomica S. Jenkins provides a steady and sure hand with her direction. She exhibits not only a solid understanding of Lyons’ work, but also has a pretty great sense of the difficulties of familial relationships as demonstrated by the sizzling communal energy of her ensemble. Jenkins stages the show as if the entire theatre is a church and the audience members are the congregation. She also has a nice touch with the beats and lets the show be funny, sweet, serious, sad, and hopeful when and where it’s needed. Jenkins also coached excellent performances from her actors.
Lyons wrote a true ensemble piece and every thespian gets her or his moment in the spotlight. Throughout the night, you’ll see stirring turns from Malik Kelly as Kenny Mabry. Kelly’s Kenny feels a bit shut out of the family due to his homosexuality and has some impressive monologues about his identity and his moving farewell to his late grandfather. Matt Torczon is delightfully awkward as Kenny’s partner, Logan. Aniyah Skanes is perfect as the boundary pushing teenager who loves to press the buttons on others and pines for a rap career. Dani Cleveland provides some surprises as an attendee of the funeral. As Simone, Ashley Adams carries a load of anger on her back due to a failed relationship and snarkily misdirects it against Logan due to his reminding her of the cause of the failure. Anthony Montegut is the open-minded and level-headed new pastor who yearns for a perfect eulogy in his first outing. Montegut has quite a bit of showmanship as his Reginald gets more than a little caught up in his preaching once he’s on a roll.
The roles of Baneatta Mabry and Beverly Jenkins are assuredly two sides of the same coin and Leiloni Brewer and Kerri Forrester are spot-on in the roles of the sparring sisters.
As Baneatta, Brewer has a good heart which is occasionally occluded by her judgmental, holier than thou nature. Baneatta was always the good child who lived out the life her parents laid out for her. This led to personal success, but also put her at odds with her free-spirited sister and her son due to their not living up to her exacting standards. Some of her hard edges were forged by the burden of a long-held secret and her letting go of that burden is one of the play’s most satisfying moments.
Forrester’s portrayal of Beverly has been my personal favorite of her performances. Beverly marches to her own beat and she doesn’t give a flying flip what anyone thinks about her. Forrester’s animation is explosive and immeasurable and her constant childish sniping with Baneatta and histrionic reactions provide some of the play’s best highlights. Forrester also has a subtle sense of physical comedy as her dress has the capacity of Felix the Cat’s magical bag of tricks with the seemingly limitless items she pulls from it.
Seth Howard’s set is simple and effective. A few well-placed crosses, some benches, and the incredibly realistic looking brick edifice of St Luke Church which opens into an impressive chapel with colorful crosses. Howard also utilizes projections to not only depict outdoor scenes, but for the remembrance of life sequence for Bernard Jenkins. Jim Othuse’s lights keep things bright and a strobing effect during a comical fight scene is skillful and funny. Lindsay Pape’s costumes are smart and elegant and are indicative of a going to church crowd with the exception of Beverly’s maneater dress as she is simply on the prowl. The purple vestments she designed for Reginald are also a visual treat. John Gibilisco provides some ambient sounds with the tolling of a church bell and had the actors well miked. Andrew Morgan’s props enhance Howard’s set with Bernard’s casket being a particular standout. Jordan the Ninja has composed a nice little score to tie the show together with the piano moments being quite memorable.
Family. They’re buggable and huggable. An evening with this family may conjure up visions of your own and it will certainly provide a light-hearted respite for your day.
Chicken & Biscuits runs at the Omaha Community Playhouse through May 12. Showtimes are Wed-Sat at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are on sale now, ranging from $25-$40 and may be purchased at the Box Office, by phone at (402) 553-0800, or online at OmahaPlayhouse.com. The Omaha Community Playhouse is located at 6915 Cass St in Omaha, NE.
Photo Credit: Omaha Community Playhouse
Chris' Corner 