Arts

Bootycandy is sexy

by Jules Becker
Thursday Mar 24, 2016

Robert O'Hara likes to throw caution to the wind. The out African-American playwright has challenged easy assumptions about reality and identity in his probing 1995 effort "Insurrection: Holding History," in which young gay black protagonist Ron travels back in time and looks at slavery and the rebellion of Nat Turner. In his provocative somewhat auto-biographical 2006 comedy "Bootycandy," fictional African-American writer Sutter travels from a euphemism-dominated childhood through an exploratory adolescence to an insightful adulthood in a no-holds-barred odyssey to understanding. While not as tightly plotted as "Insurrection," "Bootycandy'' nevertheless often proves engagingly outrageous in its SpeakEasy Stage area premiere at the Calderwood Pavilion.

That outrageousness begins with the play's politically incorrect title itself. Sutter's domineering mother tells her preschool son to keep his 'bootycandy' clean and avoids explaining this very suggestive euphemism for the word 'penis' by giving him a dictionary where he also cannot find other colloquial expressions like 'blowjob.' Here and throughout O'Hara's episodic play-stretching from the 1970's to the present day, family and ensemble scenes call to mind a satiric predecessor-namely George C. Wolfe's "The Colored Museum." Following the family opening comes a hilarious sequence in which black-robed Reverend Benson reads from a letter insinuating the presence of kissing, hand-holding young male congregants yet makes quite a self-revelation while dismissing such homophobia. This kind of unorthodox but all-embracing posture finds a second act parallel when a religious leader identified as Officiant presides over a 'de-commitment' ceremony for divorcing lesbians.

Does O'Hara successfully weave disparate scenes together in a fully satisfying comic tapestry? If such scenes tie in, they often do so fairly loosely. Women arguing about the idea of naming a baby girl 'Genitalia' somewhat connect with the rumor mongers of the first church scene as well as the divorce ceremony between then adult Genitalia and her equally unusually named spouse Intifada. The strongest plot development-not surprisingly the most autobiographical element- involves Sutter's progression from a sexually confused student to a fully confident out adult. His growing conflict with his mother and stepfather actually derives from O'Hara's own adolescent tensions at home. Early on, Sutter's mother tries to keep her son out of school theater while his stepfather pushes sports. A later bar scene finds maturing Sutter exploring his sexuality with his brother-in-law Roy, who ironically insists that he is straight. Eventually as a grownup he pursues passion for writing and connects with his feisty and deeply caring Old Granny.

Will audiences warm to the play's episodic style? Will some theatergoers be put off by the in-your-face church scenes? Will some audience members recoil at a disturbing scene in which a curiously sadistic Sutter 'plays' with an emotionally damaged drinker named Clint? Clint may want to be humiliated yet he insists "I'm not a toy." Likewise, O'Hara does not mean to toy with his audience. All of these situations-as unconnected as some of them are- do resonate with alternately humorous and risk-taking observations about growing up gay and black in America as well as insights about generational differences.

Director Summer L. Williams, one of the best freelance Hub directors (" An Octoroon" with Company One and "Meet Vera Stark" with Lyric Stage Company of Boston) ,and a sterling quintet makes all of the play's characters authentic (Maurice Emmanuel Parent as Sutter and the other four actors in a variety of roles) and its divergent scenes work- even the less satisfying ones like the 'decommitment' ceremony. Gifted Parent not only perfectly captures Sutter's coming of age and coming out but also does a mean moonwalk as the big Michael Jackson fan. Johnny Lee Davenport sashays with gospel gusto as Reverend Benson, brings macho intensity to Stepfather and catches all of Old Granny's spirit. Parent and Davenport make the pivotal Sutter-Old Granny reunion both riveting and deeply moving. Tiffany Nicole Greene makes Sutter's Young Black Mom properly incorrigible. Highly versatile John Kuntz finds Roy's vulnerability as well as Clint's growing self-deprecation. As Clint disrobes (nudity makes this a play for adults) in body, mind and heart, Kuntz brings palpable pathos to his heart-wrenching unraveling.

In director's playbill notes, Williams advises, "Go for the Ride! Stay with it, experience it, and let it wash over you." SpeakEasy Stage's pumped up premiere makes "Bootycandy" a sexy winner.