...what the end will be (Roundabout Theatre Company) NYC Reviews and Tickets

"In '… What the End Will be,' facing death really means reckoning with life — what makes it worth living despite its impermanence — and learning how to seize some measure of joy for yourself. It’s everything that is meant when we say that Black lives matter."
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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 Bordelon’s direction doesn’t help much; it all adds up to a stagy experience."
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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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"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 — 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 '…what the end will be,' there are discussions of many potential ends — 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 trio’s 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: “Black people can’t be racist. I read that on the Facebook.” Ra’s 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 character’s bottled-up emotions, offering a moving psychological portrait. The personable Gerald Caesar’s Tony is a vivid take on adolescent struggle.
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