Word Up! review
Posted on April 18, 2008 12:52 AM
Review Word Up surprises viewers
PHOTO: Sara Rinkunas
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The Penn State School of Theatre performs Word Up, a play about the hip-hop generation.
If you go
What: Penn State School of Theatre presents Word Up!
When: Friday through April 26, except for April 20
Where: Playhouse Theatre
Details: Tickets are $8.50 for Thursday’s preview performances. From April 18 to 26, tickets are $14.
Reviewed by Stacey Federoff
Collegian Staff Writer
When Steve Broadnax, director of the School of Theatre's Word Up! said in an interview with the Collegian last week the show would include the "political, social, economical and religious" aspects of hip-hop, I didn't know what to expect from the production.
Somehow all of those elements came together to produce something that was meant to reflect the hip-hop generation, which is defined in Word Up! as anyone born between 1965 and 1984. The production was mainly a series of vignettes. B-Boy All-Star, played by Quester Hannah (graduate-theatre) began the performance with "Genesis" philosophical and insightful style while wearing all white and toting a boombox. After making a dramatic entrance with bright, white lights to the opening of "O Fortuna," he spoke in a lyrical cadence about God creating hip-hop. The actor integrated the biblical Abraham, Jacob and Esau, with rap icons such as Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin and LL Cool J in only a few phrases.
The metaphors and rhythms were creative, and continued to be throughout the entire show, not just from B-Boy All-Star, but from the entire cast. Dance numbers mixed among the spoken-word poetry and rap vignettes featured the cast's 13 dancers, each with a different theme. One or more of the other half of the cast, called "the poets," confronted subjects such as love, sex, politics and death through different series of scenes using music, poetry, humor or drama. One of the poets, Patrese McClain (graduate-theatre), delivered a standout performance.
She argued about hairstyles, wore sunglasses that disguised infatuation, got the audience to commiserate about men who claim to be well endowed and acted as the flight attendant on "Trans-Crunk-A-Nental" airways.
McClain conveyed each section of dialogue with realistic ease and attitude -- all while wearing denim hot pants and gold high heels during the first act and black skin-tight pants during the second act.
Among the serious questions about relationships, political calls for change and efforts for female empowerment were moments of levity and truth that connected with the audience.
Gilbert Bailey (sophomore-musical theatre) acted as comic relief with three different haiku with a hip-hop twist throughout the performance and attempts at winning ladies' attention with terrible pickup lines.
The dancers added momentum and fluidity to Word Up! pulling some impressive moves in addition to donning some pretty impressive costumes -- ones made of black leather and lace for a sequence titled "Sex." The production doesn't focus on race, ethnicity or sexuality as a defining quality of hip-hop, but reinforces the revolutionary impact that has occurred because of it in many different aspects of today's society.