See it if you are curious about how the playwright differentiates between 3 generations of Black gay men in one family. There are some revelations.
Don't see it if you dislike plays using significant issues such as mixed race relationships & euthanasia without acknowledging their significance
See it if gets the medicine right; competently acted; big manipulative tear jerker speech evokes tears
Don't see it if not smart, flabby, without direction, no foundation for ending; how many ways can I say meh?
See it if An outstanding drama & must see! Powerful performances, beautiful set & moving to tears script. Bravo to all involved with perfection đłď¸âđ
Don't see it if If you want a musical then skip this one.
See it if you like terrific actors and great writing.Play explores relationships and sexual identity.Keith Randolph Smith is absolutely brilliant.
Don't see it if you are a right wing bigot.Or actually you should see it and learn something about gay relationships. Beautiful story, well told,well acted.
See it if U like Tyler Perry flavored situations, storyline involving 3 generations gay black men, pretty set and actors, only 1 queen in the cast
Don't see it if assisted suicide, inter-racial gay marriage, centering a grandparent, smoking, assisted living are on your verboten list
See it if A family showing how the traumas of homophobia, being Black, masculinity issues may take generations to fade. Predictable but still healing.
Don't see it if Family drama, queerness, Blackness, male masculinity, intergenerational trauma, end of life decisions/conversations, death. Read more
See it if youâre interested in a terrific generational and LGBT+ drama.
Don't see it if you donât want to be moved.
See it if a play in the now about people not always represented on stage
Don't see it if want more timeless plays versus something "now". king of felt like two stories in one that didn't really intersect properly.
"In '⌠What the End Will be,' facing death really means reckoning with life â what makes it worth living despite its impermanence â and learning how to seize some measure of joy for yourself. Itâs everything that is meant when we say that Black lives matter."
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"While the intergenerational dynamics can also sometimes feel schematic, the characters are crisply defined, and there is an undeniable pleasure in watching the tensions in this unusual family surge and subside. Under the direction of Margot Bordelon, the actors slip easily into the skins of their characters, although the actors with the richer roles tend to outshine the others."
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"Audience members seeking a whiff of nuance or insight in this Roundabout Theatre Company production will be left largely wanting. The script by playwright Mansa Ra struggles to find a consistent rhythm that feels like actual people talking to each other. Margot Bordelonâs direction doesnât help much; it all adds up to a stagy experience."
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"This play sparkles too (despite the occasional mushiness) because it gets to the heart of some shared human experiences that have little to do with race, sexuality, and gender, such as what it takes to let go of your own pain, and what it means to let someone you love let go of theirs â rules be damned. Ultimately, as the play's title suggest, we all know what the end will be ... the ellipsis is how we get there."
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The overall result -- Bartholomew's big scene aside -- is pleasant but glib, affirmative yet sketchy. It's certainly possible that, filled out with more detail and shading, ...what the end will be could become the funny, yet heart-wrenching, drama it aspires to be. But, packaged as a slick, ninety-minute evening of laughter and tears, it strains credulity. This is a tale that wants more intensive telling. Is it too late to hope that it might yet get it?
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"A singular spellbinding performance and a beautifully scripted, deeply moving story of self-determination, redemption, and love lie at the heart of Mansa Ra's '... what the end will be,' a play about a cross-generational family of Black gay men"
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"As calculatedly happens throughout 'âŚwhat the end will be,' there are discussions of many potential ends â including one quite significant, quite literal end. But the play itself suggests there is no end in sight for the societal changes that have occurred over the last several decades and will surely uncork surprises for decades to come."
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In four scenes spanning a few months, Ra renders his gay family trioâs life events, medical situations, numerous clashes and resolutions with pungent topicality. The pandemic is referenced, gender and pronouns are discussed, and cultural bromides are stated: âBlack people canât be racist. I read that on the Facebook.â Raâs characters are given rich portrayals by the splendid cast. With his melodious voice, priceless facial expressions and stage presence, veteran actor Keith Randolph Smith grounds the production with his towering performance as Bartholomew. As Maxwell, the fiery Emerson Brooks supremely conveys the characterâs bottled-up emotions, offering a moving psychological portrait. The personable Gerald Caesarâs Tony is a vivid take on adolescent struggle.
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