Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog – Outstanding
Bookended by eruptions, the first verbally and visually mesmerizing, the last shocking, Topdog/Underdog grabs and doesn’t let go. Themes of filial competition (think Cain and Abel), life on the periphery, prejudice, violence, and grifting braid through the relationship of brothers Lincoln (Corey Hawkins) and Booth (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Their parents having deserted without leaving a map, the young men gravitated to one another in need and recognition, but evolved like opposing magnetic fields.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Lincoln, who plays the iconic president in top hat, frock coat and whiteface at an arcade where people pay to assassinate him (wow) walked away from street hustling three card monte when his partner got shot. (A passing “mark” bets that he can find the “moneycard” among three facedown playing cards after they’ve been quickly manipulated. Accompanying speech is spewn like a gleeful auctioneer as the spectator is misdirected.) The job has regular hours and a safe paycheck. It’s what he could get.
Booth “boosts” i.e. shoplifts whatever he/they need, at one point returning with two entire suits, two shirts, ties, belts, and bright new pairs of sneakers sequestered on his person. Celebratory “choreography” is captivating. Both actors move like hip-hop dancers. Booth aspires to Lincoln’s hotshot skill at cards, practicing with nimble hands and rhythmic spiel – think jazz improvisation. Though we witness Lincoln’s strong temptation, Booth’s talking his “be-all and end-all” brother into returning to the hustle with him is an uphill challenge.
The two share a tenement studio – bathroom down the hall – where Lincoln joined his sibling after being divorced. He sleeps on a recliner, his brother in the bed. Booth brags i.e. lies in pithy terms about a woman named Grace – more together than her suitor – whom he may or may not plan to marry. Locker room sex talk flows easily.
Corey Hawkins
Suzan-Lori Parks’ 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning show (in my opinion, a major contender for Best Revival Tony) is not, as it might seem, just a kitchen sink drama. The play is filled with as much humor as pathos. When Lincoln is threatened with being replaced by a dummy, Booth tries to help him offer more than an animatronic can provide. His suggestion to scream when shot and display physical death throes elicits hysterical results. The cocky, quicksilver skill of monte sleight of hand easily evokes grins. Nor are the two always at one anothers’ throats. Between spasms of vitriol, there’s bantering, sympathy, and even respect. Those aspects of the relationship are overpowered.
The playwright is immensely articulate with vernacular. She’s constructed her trenchant piece with layers of perception and emotion revealing themselves like a peeled onion. A con is present in every relationship, even to some extent, that with the audience. Parks provokes.
Corey Hawkins, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Corey Hawkins, a Tony nominee for Six Degrees of Separation, is completely solid as a man whose constant vigilance alone keeps the monkey off his back. Overriding survival mode selfishness, his Lincoln subtly shows protectiveness toward the reckless Booth. The actor is as proficient with comedy as drama, provides a vibrant presence, and moves like a dream.
In his Broadway debut, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II exudes braggadocio. As beautifully loose-limbed as he is amoral, often animal-like in desperately cornered reaction, the character is played with utter conviction. Watching Booth lose what few moorings he has renders a kind of helpless thrill.
Corey Hawkins
Kenny Leon’s direction is masterful. His actors rarely stop moving, yet every bit of stage business is credible, character specific, and engaging. Expressions pass over faces like palpable thought. Timing – paramount here – is expert. My only caveat is that transitions between episodic scenes might somehow be achieved more smoothly than an abrupt black-out.
Scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado looks like an appropriate last resort. Dede Ayite’s costumes are at the same time apt and imaginative. Listed as vocal coach, Kate Wilson more probably aided in the metered cadence of monte pitches than the single song Lincoln ostensibly improvises (he sings well) to keep from being thrown out.
Photos by Marc J. Franklin
Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog
Directed by Kenny Leon
Golden Theatre
252 West 45th St.
