At Central Square Theater in Cambridge, about a dozen creatives of color sit at tables in a black walled room to rehearse. The actors’ voices boom and change timbre as they read their characters’ lines in preparation for an upcoming performance. The vibe of the group, members of The Front Porch Arts Collective, a black-led theater company, feels more like a gathering of old friends at dinner than a rehearsal.
They're working on the epic play, “black odyssey boston,” which runs April 25 through May 19. This subversive take on Homer’s classic tale by playwright Marcus Gardley, combines the elements of Boston, informed by interviews with key residents of color, with Greek mythology, African-American oral history and music.
The basic gist of Odysseus’ (Ulysses in Roman myths) story remains the same. But, in "black odyssey boston," directed by Benny Sato Ambush, Ulysses Lincoln, (Brandon Green), is a Gulf War veteran presumed dead who fights to find his way back home — both physically and metaphorically — to wife Nella Pell (Elle Borders, who is Green's real-life wife), and son Malachi. During the journey Green says, “Ulysses learns to confront his past, to confront the dark parts of himself, and in doing so, brings out more of his light.”
In the midst, intrusive gods, Great Grand Daddy Deus (Johnny Lee Davenport) and Great Grand Paw Sidin (Regie Gibson) struggle to control Ulysses' fate, as bits and pieces of the diaspora — like Afro Cuban chants, references to Martin Luther King Jr. and Tina Turner — add color and depth. Read more.