Chicken and Biscuits – A Surprise Welcome Back to Broadway
For the record, I do want to apologize for why I have not been reporting and reviewing on recent theater adventures. I have been doing mini reviews of past shows to have you guys catch up with me. I had some troubles in my personal life, mental health and school was very busy (my own writing style has changed). Graduating in the middle of a pandemic really impacted the past few years but I had this urge to come back to this blog. I initially came in little bits but wanted to pause writing due to life being busy. The idea was that after graduation I would come back hardcore. Plus, Broadway and live theater shut down because of the COVID 19 pandemic but as of the day I write this (October 29, 2021), Broadway is slowly coming back. Being the optimist, I am hopeful that things will be better in the industry. My mini reviews will still come in bits and pieces, so please be patient.
For those who are old readers, welcome back. For those who are new, Hi I’m Lea and I love live theater, New York, (you can tell where this is going). I started writing reviews in my junior year of high school for the school newspaper and continued on until 2016 as life got busy. I started this blog as another outlet as I was trying to decide what I wanted to do: major in drama and minor in journalism or vice versa. I would like to even spread my wings and do interviews in the future, but we will see what happens.
Now onto this piece…
In March of 2020, Broadway shut down and it has been down for the past 19 months due to COVID 19. Everything was closed down and Broadway artists were looking to change the demographic of Broadway with the Black Lives Matter movement and getting rid of bullies in the industry like Scott Rudin and push for more diversity, equality, inclusion and equity in this business. As Broadway starts to reopen back up with the old favorites, new plays are pounding the pavement. I personally saw my last Broadway show in January 2020 and last show over all pre pandemic was in March 2020. Four days before the world turned upside down. On September 25th 2021, a year and eight months since my last Broadway show, the day before the aforementioned postponed Tony awards of 2020, I was back in a Broadway theatre again seeing a show. Someone pinch me please. The show, Douglas Lyons’ Chicken and Biscuits which I saw in its 3rd preview, 1st matinee show at Circle in the Square theatre.
Chicken & Biscuits is a raucous family comedy so full of laughter and love, it’ll leave you begging for seconds. The show centers on the African American Jenkins Family consisting of Baneatta Mabry (played by Cleo King in her Broadway debut), who wants everything for her father’s funeral to be perfect, her minister husband Reginald (Tony Nominee Norm Lewis in his first Broadway play) who is delivering the eulogy, their son Kenny (Devere Rogers in his Broadway debut), an actor who is bringing his white Jewish boyfriend Logan Leibowitz (Michael Urie), Baneatta and Reginald’s daughter Simone (Alana Raquel Bowers in her Broadway debut) who recently got dumped, Baneatta’s sister Beverly (Ebony Marshall-Loiver in her Broadway debut) who seemingly can’t stand Baneatta and always comes dressed to show off what “assets” God gave her and Beverly’s nosey teenage Gen Z daughter La’Trice (Aigner Mizzelle in her Broadway debut). The Jenkins family is coming together to celebrate the life of their father—hopefully without killing each other! You think it would be ok and run smooth but any hopes for a peaceful reunion unravel when a family secret by the appearance of a mystery guest (played by Natasha Yvette Williams) shows up at the funeral…well I’ll let you find out.
This show made its world premiere at the Queens Theatre in February 2020 and the run was cut short due to the COVID 19 pandemic. More recently on February 27th this past year, the play was streamed thanks to 59E59 Theaters with majority of the cast reprising their roles from the Queens Theatre. Now its here on Broadway as one of the newest shows to open post pandemic. Douglas Lyons who was an actor before making his debut as a playwright gives us a story that everyone can relate to about family, love, religion and relationships (not just love relationships but family relationships). I found the dialogue relatable and funny. The play is centered on a Black family and any one of many ethnicities can relate to the story even me as I am mixed Asian (Filipina/ Italian) mix. The director, Zhailon Levingston, makes his Broadway directorial debut as the youngest Black director in Broadway history at the age of 27 along with 30+ artists onstage and offstage who also made their Broadway debuts. The set is great for a theater in the round which is set in a church. The blocking was very useful for a theater in a round since these long benches can be used to show a bedroom, the lobby of a church, church pews, etc. The sound including the music brought a church vibe along with some modern-day beats.
I have so many things to say about this cast which in many ways is the example of a true ensemble who made this story feel real. They are all stars. One got the feeling that this is a real family. What the family goes through and the dynamics in the family are something families in this time and generation deal with. Everyone has great moments especially when each of them is delivering their speeches about the patriarch at his celebration. One highlight was Lewis taking the eulogy to new heights by hyping the crowd (there are many more but this author would like to keep things a surprise to avoid spoilers). I really enjoyed the dynamics of Rogers and Urie as Kenny and Logan who brought comedy and sentiment to moments. The family dynamics between each like King and Marshall-Oliver during their heated arguments felt realistic.
This was a great first show to come back to Broadway with. I saw it in previews so I don’t think things have changed. The show is 90 minutes with no intermission of just family, hilarity and joy. I am telling you, RUN to see this.
Some info:
Chicken and Biscuits plays at the Circle in the Square Theatre (235 W. 50th St between Broadway and 8th) for a very limited engagement until January 2nd 2022.
Also, if you want cheap day of performance tickets: The show has a digital lottery for every performance. https://chickenandbiscuitslottery.com/ Sign up begins 12:00AM on the day of performance and closes at 10:00AM for matinees and 3:00PM for the evening shows. You have to check the results on your email or on the results page on the website. If you win you will have one hour to pay for the tickets (choice of 1 or 2 tickets for $29). For the winners they will also receive a text message letting them know. The seats are located in the orchestra of the theater. While every effort will be made to seat pairs together with a full view, there is a chance that pairs may be split up and that your seat may have a partial view of the stage.
PSA: The stage door where the actors come out to sign autographs and take pictures is temporarily suspended due to the pandemic. When I saw the show my guest and I passed by Michael Urie and Devere Rogers who play Kenny and Logan as they were talking to guests outside and told them we loved the show, we will definitely come back and tell everyone and they were so happy.
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| The cast of Chicken & Biscuits. Photo credit to Emilio Madrid |
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