This weekend I went to see this play at A Noise Within with my best friend. We got there as it started to drizzle and got to the ticket booth only to be told that the tickets did not exist. She asked what we should do and I was like “Get something to eat” because I had been up since 5am and was hungry again. They said they had a few more tickets and sat us in the front row. We were both like “Um...” because I don't wanna sit front row for anything. So we sat and saw that the stage had this rubber dirt all over it and knew it was gonna flew towards us at some point. And by the way, there were quite a few seats available and we did not need to be sat that close to the stage. I like this place but they were having all kind of ticket finding issues when we got there. Now that is over I can talk about the play.
This is an August Wilson play and while my friend has seen some of them I had not. I saw Fences the movie though but this was the ninth of ten plays. The show started with a guy named Stool Pigeon banging on congos a few feet from us and shouting. He comes in and out of the play proclaiming that god is a “bad motherfucker.” I did not know what year this was taking place in and was confused by the clothes they wore versus the things they were saying. I was puzzled when a video store was mentioned because I thought this was in the late 50's or early 60's. It is 1985. That was a good year as a kid. King is an ex-con trying to get his life on track. And by try I mean fail terribly. I'm not sure if I was supposed to sympathies with dude but I couldn't because he had a hairpin trigger temper. The reason he was in prison for seven years is because he killed a guy who called him “Champ” and sliced his face with a knife.
King believes that between him and his friends they can get $10,000 and buy a video store. They are raising the money buy selling stolen fridges and robberies. King's friend Mister has a job he is barely at and is really good at both being a great friend to King as well as instigating him. King's lady is named Tonya and she is 35 with a 17 year old daughter that is pregnant from a previous man. She is currently pregnant with King's child but does not want to keep it since her previous guys in prison and she knows King is headed back because of the things he is up to. Ruby is King's mother. They absolutely do not get along and he wants her to leave. King plants some seeds earlier and Ruby tells him the dirt is no good. This sends King into a rage. This guy named Elmore shows up and likes to gamble and rip folks off.
One day Mister buys a gun from Elmore. The gun barely works. King and Mister rob a jewelry store for extra money and Mister is pissed because King tried to get into the safe or grab jewelry. He ends up stealing a ring that he plans to give to Tonya. He gets upset when she tells him she does not want to keep the baby. There is a backstory of an elderly lady that passed away and he cat soon dies. Stool Pigeon buries the cat near the growing plant with some offerings. King and Tonya stop talking while Ruby and Elmore get so close he proposes to her. Then all hell begins to break loose. Elmore lets King know that the man he thought was his father is indeed not and that the man who actually was got killed by Elmore himself. King goes to kill him but does not. Elmore fires a shot into the air. In a panic Ruby emerges from indoors and accidentally shoots King, killing him. And then with his blood on the grave of the cat it begins to meow.
This was a very good show. The cast, especially King was good. When that man got upset it felt very real. I think I need to find a way to see some of his previous plays online because there is a part of me that feels like I am missing some things. It is said some of the characters from this appear in other plays.
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