'Choir Boy': Teen angst tale needs fine-tuning

‘CHOIR BOY’: (left to right) Nicholas L. Ashe, J. Quinton Johnson, Jeremy Pope, Caleb Eberhardt & John Clay III. Photo: Matthew Murphy

CHOIR BOY
Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Trip Cullman
Through February 24, 2019
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
(212-239-6200), www.manhattantheatreclub.com

By David NouNou

Life in any prep school is fraught with teenage angst, anxiety, bullying, camaraderie, homophobia and preparing for college, but the setting for Choir Boy is the Charles P. Drew Prep School—a boarding school for teenage black men with high ethical standards—has an extra layer added, that of hypocrisy and not ratting out your fellow brothers even if they “done you wrong.”

Pharus Jonathan Young (Jeremy Pope), a flamboyantly gay African-American teenager who has been bullied and shamed since he was eight, sings to his own tune, at his own peril. Here now, he does what he knows best and that is to sing gospel songs and he is the lead in the choir. Of course, there is also the homophobic bully, also in the choir, Bobby Marrow (J. Quinton Johnson). He also happens to be the nephew of Headmaster Marrow (Chuck Cooper).

At the onset, Pharus is taunted with racial and homophobic slurs by Bobby at a school recital, which puts the blame on Pharus for stopping in the middle of singing. Pharus is summoned to the headmaster’s office to explain his behavior. Naturally being a young man of honor and obeying the school code, he doesn’t squeal to the headmaster of what the man’s nephew did to him. Well, you see the dilemma here.

In this mix is a closeted, confused young man, David Heard (Caleb Eberhardt), aspiring to be a priest. The sympathetic and understanding straight, macho roommate, Anthony (John Clay III) and the all-around smart aleck, Junior Davis (Nicholas L. Ashe) who tries to do the right thing by all.

The problem here is the story—what there is of it—is riddled with clichés and has little substance. Written by Tarrell Alvin McCraney, Oscar winner for the screenplay of Moonlight, has a good premise, that of a young gay black teenager struggling in the world to find a place in it, and the struggle within his own race. It’s a story that should be told, but it was told better in Moonlight. This reeks of the 1992 movie School Ties with Brendan Fraser and Matt Dillon, of honor in an all-boys’ school. What is worse is that there is no focus from director Trip Cullman to give it a more cohesive narrative and badly needed fine-tuning. The redeeming grace is Jeremy Pope as Pharus. He originated this role in 2013 off Broadway, and gives the play the anchor it so desperately needs.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 10, 2019
Reviewed at January 9, 2019 performance.