By J.A. Jones | Contributor
Katori Hall’s THE HOT WING KING plays at American Stage through June 28, and it’s bringing family trauma, street life, male-on-male love, and food-as-celebration to the table for conversation.
Luckily, under Kenny Moten’s well-paced direction, the laughs balance out painful conversations on self-discovery, family pathology, police violence, and parenting.
From left: Matthenee Treco and Jos N. Banks as “Cordell and Dwayne.” (Photo by Chaz D. Photography/ Flickr)
The cast is up to the challenge – including Mathenee Treco as a barbecue master in the middle of self-discovery while leading his team in the chicken wing competition, and Jos N. Banks as his lover, holding down a family issue that threatens to come between them.
As their stalwart friends, Randy Chalmers and Don Randle are a mouthy queen and reliable barber, who humorously round out the hot wing challengers.
Elijah Jordan and Lance Markeith Felton bring a compassionate and moving dynamic to the drama as a 16-year-old son and his wayward dad. While these two characters identify as straight, both are dealing with their own complex relationship after experiencing the loss of a mother and partner, finding themselves floundering and caught up in street life.
Director Kenny Moten writes in the program, “This play is rooted in Black queer life, but it never tries to explain that life from the outside.” One young man who identified as straight spoke about the play afterward, sharing, “It’s really not about the sexuality as much as it’s about the expectations all Black men face.”
Another young brother in the house acknowledged he found it “entertaining” — but admitted to being unsure about Hall’s intentions as a Black woman writing about experiences she doesn’t live within.
However, Hall, known for the TV series P-VALLEY and the play THE MOUNTAINTOP, is no stranger to examining the humanity underlying her characters’ darkest moments, a line of investigation she continues in this play.
The production’s creative team understood their assignments: Sam Doty, lighting designer; Steven Mitchell, scenic designer; Tyrese Pope, sound designer; and Wendell Carmichael, costume designer, deliver a rich atmosphere and backdrop for the play’s themes.
From left: Lance Felton and Elijah Jordan as “EJ and TJ.” (Photo by Chaz D. Photography/ Flickr)
American Stage is offering half-price tickets for the entire run, using the code HOT26, and the production is on until June 28 at American Stage, 163 3rd St N, Raymond James Theatre, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Performances run Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 pm, Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm.
On June 18 and June 26, Post-Show Talkbacks will be open to attendees; there will be an ASL (American Sign Language) Performance on June 20.
Visit https://www.americanstage.org/shows/hot-wing-king for tickets and information.
