Spring in Washington DC opens up with a ground-breaking world premiere play, From Gumbo to Mumbo presented by Keegan Theatre’s PLAY-RAH-KA Series. It’s a Live Narrative performed by two award-winning Spoken Word artists and educators: Drew Anderson and Dwayne Lawson-Brown who’ve dedicated their lives to the edification of young school students: enlivening their learning experience of any subject to include fun lyrical rhymes games, trendy culture hits, and the use of creative production.
From Gumbo to Mumbo, an expressive, creative and innocently explicit drama, does just that. It brings to Life the narrative of two brothers-from-another-Mother sharing their love for the making of a savory sense of what appears to be a mix-up, mashup and toss up of cultures. In real life, they are both Black, Young and Poetic. They represent their cities DC and New Orleans with an astounding love and allegiance that not even the haunting of Hurricane Katrina or the boisterous uproar of Gentrification facing our nation’s capital today could take from them. In the play, they personify the Black Boy, in many phases: boyhood, manhood, in love, in the struggle for claiming rightful identity and in his place in this Great America. Through the eyes of the Black Boy from the Youngin from South East (S.E.) or the Wodi from NOLA, they extend a candid open invitation into the mind and heart of “him” that really is like every person’s coming of age.
The opening takes us in and outside of a Red Nissan pickup truck revolving on a platform, strings of colorful triangles banner across the top of the set framing the stage and putting us in a Mardi Gras mood. As the guys tit for tat about what’s the best of their cities–it’s like how kids in the 1970-80’s use to Play the Dozens, rhyming up the longest crudest cut-throat street-cred realness diss that one could come up with to put his opponent down. But this one was done in Love. Love for good GUMBO or good MUMBO. Real New Orleans GUMBO, not just “spicy soup” let it be known of which they debate over in a mock game of Family Feud between the two.
On the other hand, MUMBO is a special DC sauce, red sweet and tangy often drizzled on Fries or used to soak seasoned deep fried chicken. The actors continue to play out scenarios of which only a native who grew up wearing K-Swiss Adidas in DC or mixing the best Bisquik batter in New Orleans would know about.
Drew, parodist, comic, former high school science teacher and Creator of Spoof School and C.R.U.N.K. Academy is best described as one who “spits” to the audience. His lyrical narrative consists of quick mind tapping tongue twisters, that make you bounce and bob your head in your seat. Classic. He’s got a mic in his hands, walking through the audience pulling them into his heartfelt rhythmic ballads when he goes to tell us all about it.[ezcol_1third]
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From Gumbo to Mumbo
closes April 7, 2019
Details and tickets
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Between he and Dwayne, they touch on a few topics including a statement made by Sarah Palin advising immigrants to, “Speak American.” Drew gave us some school for thought as he exposed the root of linguistics in our country evolving from as far back as our ties to the Great British accent, through our Independence and mixing of cultures with other Europeans migrants until today where use of trending slang phrases appropriated by People of Color and Immigrants is deemed the most intolerable and yet has assimilated the most. His partner, Dwayne, an emotional-intellect, tosses on a professional white coat and runs down the chalkboard and lists of points, laughing, grunting, in agreement and thought.
Dwayne brings a unique dynamic to the play that makes you reach inside yourself and ponder Truth. His gift of gab has more of an even tone, a rhythm that sits beneath the direct eye contact he makes with us while reciting a Love Ballad or colorful Haiku on how a friend, diagnosed with HIV AIDS, barely got by. He’s is the red-color tip dipped Artist with ‘locs who is passionate about the awareness of Mental Health issues, the support of the LGBTQ Community and the transparency of humanity in general. Agile as he is eloquent, his use of mixed media to tell his version of the Black Boy includes breakdancing, a single rose and video projection on those colorful banners. Viewers can do more than sit and listen……they can chime in if they know the words to a song, snap in affirmation of deep moment or finish the rest of his sentence where pauses allow.
Dwayne and Drew brilliantly present hefty topics: bullying, isolation, suicide, romance, love, fear, family, money, position, power, politics, friends without the all-too-familiar aggressive and ornery approach. Clearly, you have here two fully invested and developed Creatives who understand just how the influence of words spoken can either depict life or distort it. Their portrayal in dialogue with each other or a moments shared with Self as the main character, or as the actors state, “….watching Self, playing Self” translates so clearly.
The transitions from one scene to the next are fluid and unanticipated. The actors exit and re-enter from different parts of the theater, an intimate space that seats no more than 150, jumping off the stage or appearing into the aisles, switching off so that each has spotlight. At the end, the gentlemen graced us with Q&A time.
We discover that Drew, from New Orleans, has been in the DC area for almost 20 years teaching in schools and touring the nation as a proclaimed Spoken Word Artist. Dwayne, the DC native, breaks it down for the us what an authentic MUMBO Sauce looks and tastes like, contrary to those that have tried to appropriate the recipe in DC restaurants the best of it can only be found at a CarryOut. His favorite is the one on Good Hope Road SE.
I was inspired by these two Artists for bringing an artform that’s often tucked away in late night coffee cafes or on college campuses.
From Gumbo to Mumbo is completely profanity FREE. No hints of it, beeps, blurs or filters that suggest the use or even the need for Foul Language. This is a rare interpretation of Urban Culture and it is why middle school aged students are encouraged to attend. Recommended for everyone 10 and older.
From Gumbo to Mumbo, written and performed by Drew Anderson and Dwayne Lawson-Brown . Director Duane Richards II . Set Designer Matthew J. Keenan . Lighting Designer Jason Arnold+ . Projections Designer Patrick Lord . Properties / Set Dressing Designer Cindy Landrum Jacobs . Costume Consultant Alison Samantha Johnson . Sound Consultant Gordon Nimmo-Smith . Assistant Director / Stage Manager Magenta Howard . Produced by PLAY-RA-KAH . Reviewed by Kayla Harley.
Notes from a 10 year old:
On the night I went, I brought a 10-year old Black Boy. Here is his feedback: he was enthralled with the actors’ use of signing, gesturing, movement and mention of familiar songs that he could relate to. For him, satire and ironic political meanings all sound like the making and mixing of GUMBO…colorful, vivid, beautiful and interesting. He was able to pick up on how those tricky things, as he put it, like the “Big G” Gentrification really does affect our lives in DC now, such as the difficulty of finding street parking around Keegan Theatre.
Well worth seeing! Dopeness!