REVIEW: Topdog/Underdog (Round House Theatre)
It’s always a good day when you hear “Overnight Scenario” by Rare Essence on the aux. It’s even better when it’s unexpectedly part of a theatre piece, alongside a range of other go-go hits that narrate the action in Round House’s season-closing Topdog/Underdog. Suzan-Lori Parks’ 2001 tragedy has had some recent buzz, winning a Tony for best play revival last year, so now we get to respond with our own take featuring a wealth of DC talent in front of and behind the curtains.
Book
Reminiscent of True West (or Problems Between Sisters, as it were), the two-handed play covers the simmering acrimony of two brothers who share a shoddy apartment. Lincoln, the elder, is a former three-card-monte wiz who now works a low-key gig as a white-faced impersonator of his presidential namesake at an arcade. The younger brother Booth (subtle, eh?) is a jobless wannabe conman with a penchant for shoplifting. There’s no real “plot”, especially in act one, which I found devastatingly lacking in exposition — and dare I say, it was a snooze fest. I could only handle so much raggedy malice between Lincoln and Booth with no forward-moving conflict before I just got tired of it all. (Though, the dialog is ear-candy.) But the joke is on me: while I desperately searched for threads of plot, the real event is feeling just how deeply untrusting and fragile this relationship is. The audience is reminded of this in the explosive Act II, which builds castles of drama atop the leisurely foundations of Act I. It’s hard to say that the twists aren’t obvious, but somehow they hit you just as hard. Perhaps Parks attempts to pacify trembling thoughts of how south this could go by simply…going there. After all, a key theme of the piece is mental health among Black men, a group well documented in having very few resources for it. Lincoln’s monologues reveal so much about his psyche as a Black man in a way few shows do. He and is brother were abandoned, and as such they have abandoned the world. Paranoia and catastrophization linger in all of his actions. Booth, too, suffers. In fact his actions portray a carnal desire to be the center of attention, a role most younger siblings get by default and one he was robbed of. Several times throughout the play are opportunities where he could have just said or done nothing, and it would have improved the situation. But each time he acts, to detriment. It’s a heartbreaking realization of the Shakespearean nature of the piece. Where Topdog falters in a traditional conflict-driven story, it makes up for and then some in a powerful case study on the mental health and societal abandoning of the Black male archetype. Parks’ metaphorically astute play won her the Pulitzer for a reason. 10/10
Acting
Putting oomph into the briny characters are masterful acting performances by Ro Boddie (Lincoln) and Yao Dogbe (Booth). As a prolific DC-area actor, Boddie always has lofty ceilings, and as always, he delivers to them with classically striking performances. His buttery deliveries and commanding stage presence is never wasted (especially impressive to me since I think Booth has the more engaging lines of the two). Boddie’s expressions consistently writhe with inner conflict, just as Booth’s skate across his brow with reckless drive. This being my introduction to Dogbe leaves a great first impression, too, as I watched him unravel over the course of each act. Each microtear in the fabric of their relationship is palpable thanks to his subtle glances and alert twitches. As individually despicable as these brothers are to each other, you can’t help but feel their personas rope you in to the destruction. The performances only have you rooting for one thing: a resolution. Whether we get — or deserve — a soft one that doesn’t result in tragedy, is a different question entirely. 10/10
Production
I had my initial reservations about Meghan Raham’s dingy set: cavernous and largely empty, with a sliver of neon poking through the smudged windows and some scattered furnishings. But like my impression of the book itself, it grew on me as the actors allowed their characters to verbally occupy it. Where I was really blown away, though, was with Xavier Pierce’s brooding lighting, which utilizes said neon in brutally convincing fashion. The subtle glows reflecting the character arcs, as well as framing their skin with menacing polish as their relationship grows into despair, was a visual feast. Even eventually effective as an ending stamp, in which director Jamil Jude opens up the house lights to render us complicit in the brothers’ downfall. Another great production note: it’s so DC. The Hellys, the New Balances, the Bullets shirt, all great local touches by costumer Danielle Preston. (The go-go I mentioned earlier? Icing on the cake.) 9/10
Viz
The opening view of Raham’s set is not exactly inviting, but it creates a sense of dread with its localized bright spots and muted props. It did take me a while to notice the cards on the makeshift milk crate table center stage, but perhaps my vantage point was too low. (It’s a good marker of the bootstrapped hustle Booth carries in the show.) The program art is a warmly-colored vectorized poster style of the two brothers, including Lincoln in his presidential outfit. The grittier urbanism of the play could very well be more well-represented here, as the program to me indicates that it would be more about Abraham Lincoln than about the character underneath. 3/10
Verdict
Topdog/Underdog is a sucker-punching production of a classic American play that doesn’t slow the beatdown its dominant leads provide. 33/40
