The Lost Boys of Sudan: Three refugees
Wednesday 04 April @ 13:40:12 |
  by DWIGHT HOBBES
There is nothing like the theater of the absurd when it's well written, and nobody writes it well-er than Lonnie Carter. Not that he's by himself: He's in the esteemed company of Arthur Sainer ("Day Old Bread or The Worst Good Time I Ever Had") of Theatre for the New Cities renown and Silas Jones, whose "Canned Goods," starring film and television veteran Soon Tek Oh, was a hit at Penumbra under the direction of Claude Purdy. Carter is, however at the head of the pack, having copped an Obie for "The Romance of Magno Rubio" at Ma-Yi Theatre Company and now premiering a gem, "The Lost Boys of Sudan," at Children's Theatre Company.
Carter's mid-'80s hit, "The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy," at Woody King's New Federal Theatre, jumpstarted his career, launching him into a succession of hits around New York City at famous outfits like LaMama ETC and American Place Theatre, as well as Chicago's Victory Gardens and the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven. Now he's likely to make all kinds of noise with "Lost Boys," the first play about the situation of some 20,000 boys displaced by civil war. The script is not quite as freewheeling as his other work but it is irreverently spirited in the author's telltale, madcap style of political and social commentary. Besides, bottom line, it's brilliant.
Carter gives us K-Gar Ollie, A.I. Josh and T-Mac Sam, adolescent refugees who wind up in, of all places, Fargo, N.D. The boys meet as they're all fleeing the devastation of war and team up for the dangerous journey to Kakuma, a camp in Kenya. From there, they are relocated to the good old U.S. of A., exchanging drought, crocodiles and guerillas for malls, video games and Skittles. As we follow these likeable young men through their cultural metamorphosis, Carter lampoons the living hell out of American society, then warm-heartedly offers hope that his strangers in a strange land will survive, that having been rescued from homelessness, they may just make the best of their new lives.
 Directed by Peter Brosius ("Mississippi Panorama," "Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham" with CTC), the production does a damned good job with Lonnie Carter's play. Brosius makes it look easy, prevailing in a genre most directors can't even cut. He gets to the humanity of Carter's characters, deftly guiding a strong cast that boasts Shawn Hamilton, Sonja Parks and, giving what may be his best performance to date, Andre Samples as A.I. Josh.
With boundless range, there seems to be nothing Hamilton can't do. And, for that matter, no place he hasn't done it. He's worked at Guthrie Theater's Dowling Studio ("The Falls"), the old Guthrie ("Hamlet," "His Girl Friday"), Mixed Blood Theatre ("Help"), Penumbra Theatre Company ("Blue") and many more. Filling in for James A. Williams, who got called away to August Wilson's "Radio Golf" on Broadway, Hamilton is just fine here, his vast store of energy well suited to Brosius' crisp direction. He's hilarious as a rental agent setting the boys up with their first apartment. Parks ("Snapshot Silhouette," "Jitney") has come on strong in a relatively short time, emerging as a premiere talent. This past winter she starred in "Antigone" at CTC, a performance people are still talking about. Here, she blends in nicely as an ensemble member. Samples, who has been at Mixed Blood, Pillsbury House Theatre, Frank Theatre and more, is delightfully animated in his Children's Theatre Company debut. Also in the cast are Samuel G. Roberson Jr. as K-Gar Ollie, Namir Smallwood as T-Mac Sam and ensemble members Marvette Knight, Nadia Hulett, Annie Enneking and Ashford J. Thomas. Debra Booth delivers a smart set design.
Accompanying "The Lost Boys of Sudan" is a fascinating art exhibit in the theater's lobby. Re/Act: The Art Show is the work of refugees, a young photographer and Southwest High School students who pass artistic comment on the carnage in Southern Sudan. It combines three collections: The Art of The Lost Boys, paintings by Sudanese refugees at Kakuma, a Kenyan refugee camp; Photographs from Kakuma, a collection of photographs taken by Daniel Chang Yang, capturing images from Kakuma and the surrounding region and people of Turkana; and artwork from Southwest High School students that was created in response to the artwork from Kakuma. The exhibit is open an hour before and an hour after performances of the play. ||
The world premiere of Lonnie Carter's "The Lost Boys of Sudan" runs through Sun., Apr. 22 at Children's Theatre Company on the Cargill Stage. Thu., Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 4 p.m. $18/teens, $28/adults. Ages 15+. 2400 3rd Ave. S. Mpls. 612-874-0400.
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