A Boy and his Soul, a Curtainup musical memoir review

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A CurtainUp Review

A Boy and His Soul

By Julia Furay

I was a nerd, but I had an inner city bad boy deep within.—-J.J.

Colman Domingo

If you thrill to the mellow sounds of artists like Marvin Gaye, James Taylor, and Shalomar, you'll quickly fall in love with Colman Domingo's A Boy and His Soul at the Vineyard Theatre. Soul music, as well as R&B and disco, is at the center of this new one-man play. It acts as the play's framing device as well as its language of love. One song barely stops before another begins, to much of the audience's delight. If, on the other hand, this kind of music leaves you a little cold (and count me in this latter category), never fear. There is still plenty to enjoy here, namely Domingo's colorful characters, likable stage presence, and penchant for amusing storytelling.

A Boy and His Soul, written by Domingo and directed by Tony Kelly, is essentially a memoir of Domingo's childhood in 1970s Philadelphia. As he tells us at the show's start, this stroll through memory lane came about after he rediscovered his parents' abandoned record collection at his childhood home. As framing devices go, it's a little lame, but it effectively brings us to the meat of this staged memoir: Domingo's tale of growing up gay in the inner city, and his enthusiastic impersonations of his family members. From his sassy chain-smoking sister Averie to his salt-of-the-earth stepfather Clarence, Domingo's family is certainly a charismatic bunch. Domingo has brought them to life vividly, with gleefully cartoonish mimicry and witty writing. Although some of these family vignettes have a somewhat too saccharine feel, they are the show's unquestionable highlight.

Director Tony Kelly has kept the pace fast and the staging varied. S Scenic designer Rachel Hauck's crowded basement set feels a little underused and over-detailed, but Marcus Doehl's lighting amplifies the emotions of Domingo's tale considerably. special mention should be given to Tom Morse's expert sound design.

Of course, not to be overlooked is all that music. As Domingo tells us, music is basically another character in his story. As he puts it "In my family and many families like mine, soul music was like a relative." And so at various points he croons along with Marvin Gaye, recreates an Earth, Wind and Fire concert, encourages the audience to sing along with him, and dances smoothly to Ken Roberson's low-key choreography.

Domingo certainly succeeds in articulating the importance of music to his family, and soul music fans will be delighted to rediscover lots of forgotten gems. For the rest of us, it's left to his writing (and especially) performing talents to win us over. Thankfully we are not disappointed.

A Boy and His Soul
Writer and Performer: Colman Domingo
Director: Tony Kelly
Choreographer: Ken Roberson
Scenic Design: Rachel Hauck
Lighting Designer: Marcus Doshi
Sound Designer: Tom Morse
Costume Designer: Toni-Leslie James

Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Vineyard Theatre, 108 E. 15th Street, (212) 353-0303, www.vineyardtheatre.org
Tickets: $55.
From 9/9/09 to 10/18/09; opens 9/24. Performance schedule: Tuesday @ 7pm, Wednesday through Friday @ 8pm, Saturdays @ 3pm and 8pm, and Sundays @ 3pm.
Reviewed by Julia Furay based on September 20th performance.

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