Eleven years ago, three West Philly locals and beloved theater practitioners, LaNeshe Miller-White, Walter DeShields, and Carlo Campbell, looked at their neighborhood surrounding Malcolm X Memorial Park (5100 Pine Street) and found something sorely lacking – community engagement and a representative Black voice. To fill that void, Miller-White, DeShields, and Campbell (respectively, an executive director and two co-artistic directors) created Theatre in the X and its regularly scheduled theater season of self-devised shows and newly-commissioned events along with Black classics from the likes of Southwest Philly’s Charles Fuller, August Wilson and great Black musicals such as Dreamgirls. Starting August 22 and running until August 25, Theater in the X welcomes playwright Don Evans’ One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show. The late Evans play offers laughs and light through its hilarious and heartfelt take on family – and for free at Malcolm X Park.
Directed by Maureen Henighan Booker, Evans’ One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show – named for the soulful Honey Cone classic – looks at a Philadelphia middle-class Black family in the 1970s who get their lives turned upside-down when a smart-talking niece from the country comes to live with them.
“This comedic play deals with the clash between middle-class and working-class Black folks with sharp wit, a whirlwind of humor, and heart,” writes Henighan Booker. “Our brilliantly stunning cast stretches character to explore the nuance of our rich, yet complicated cultural tapestry. And this tapestry is specifically The African American Experience and the deconstruction of the timeless debate, ‘Is it race, is it class or is it pedigree?’ In this comedy, Mr. Evans uses music, emotion, language and robust critique to force us to ‘pay attention to the tension’ to see what it means to really get our needs met as a people, as a community and ultimately as individuals.”
Along with Theatre in the X’s Campbell as one of its stars, look too for Philly actors Janan Ashton Eric Carter, Danielle Shaw-Oglesby, Sharese Salters, Tasha Holmes, Semaja Murphy, and Davon Cochran to shine throughout One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show.
And remember, audience members should BYOC (bring your own chair) and expect a block-party like atmosphere before the show. Shows are August 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. and August 24 and 25 at 5 p.m. For more information, visit theatreinthex.com.
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