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Role Players Ensemble brings the conversation about race relations to center stage at the Peace Lutheran Church next weekend with script-in-hand performances of “Honky,” a comedic play spotlighting racism and advertising in America.
Written by Brooklyn playwright Greg Kalleres in 2014, “Honky” is an award-winning play upheld by Kalleres and critics as a comedic yet dark satirical take on America’s problems with race, rhetoric, commercialism and apparently basketball shoes.
Its plot centers around the shooting death of a young African American boy over a pair of his basketball shoes, which ironically results in the tripling of sales of said shoes among white teenagers. Meanwhile, a new pill on the market — guaranteed to “cure” racism and subsequently fix America’s race problems — is also advertised.
“Political correctness goes out the window as five people, both black and white, muddle through one of the most difficult discussions of our time,” Role Players reps said in advance of the play.
Following each Role Players’ performance, a period of open discussion will allow audience members to examine the play’s real-life themes and messages with the artists and experts working on this presentation.
This production is directed by Eric Fraisher Hayes, who will soon start his fourth season as artistic director for Role Players Ensemble. The show stars Michael L. Grayson II, Danielle Levin, Dorian Lockett, Aaron Murphy, Edward Nattenberg, Kimberly Ridgeway and Aaron Wilton
“Honky” is set to run for two days — June 24 at 8 p.m. and June 25 at 2 p.m. — at the Peace Lutheran Church, 3201 Camino Tassajara in Danville.
Tickets cost $25 for regular admission or $12.50 for Role Players 2016-17 donors and early subscribers. Tickets can be purchased online on Role Players Ensemble’s website, at the Peace Lutheran Church an hour before each performance or by check, payable to Role Players Ensemble to P.O. Box 304, Danville CA 94526.
I applaud you for having the courage to put on a performance that is sure to bring controversy front and center. This is what is needed, however, to raise awareness, and more than anything, empathy. Dialogue, conversation, awareness, and ultimately enlightenment. Bravo for stepping up with this performance!
I have seen this play elsewhere. White people are greedy racists and black people are oppressed victims. More hollywood PC drible.
Dont beleive me? Here is a snippet from the LA Times review:
One of these people turns out to be the copywriter (James Liebman) who penned the ad tagline attributed to the shooter. His fiancée (Tasha Ames) attempts a hilarious balancing act between honesty and PC euphemisms, while the CEO’s cloddish insensitivity overcompensates for his own white guilt.
Hollywood does not wish to have an honest discussion about race just as Rev, Jackson/Sharpton, Eric Holder and Mr. Obama do not wish to do so. Keep putting your head in the sand about the real problems and possible real solutions. The longer we continue with the blame game of racism as the cause for problems the longer nothing changes and in the end who does that really serve?
So, the name of play is ” honkey”. If name of play was an inflammatory word for any other race, the PC police would shut this play down. Why is there a double standard? Why is it funny and great to see a play making fun of a religion( Book of Mormon), but if a play was called Book of Koran the PC police would have a stroke and demand sensitivity training.
That LA Times review sounds intriguing! Thanks for starting the thread, Sigh…., based on comments above, it looks like raising awareness is sorely needed.
@Diana
I could not agree more. Far more awareness is needed.
Having a very large out of wedlock childbirth problem is the first of many steps in a cycle of self destruction. Then we see poor attendance and test scores. We move on to high crime rates and then incarceration and death rates.
None of this is because of racisim though certainly racisim does exist.
Chicago and Baltimore will lose lives that should have lived well. It happens every single weekend. The community will rise up in the rare occasion that the life is lost as a result of a legal shooting by a police officer but when the far more often case of young black male killings by other young black males were here silence.
We saw black america cheer as OJ Simpson got away with two murders.
We see the lie of hands up dont shoot being used even after it was clear that was not the case.
We see black leaders blame everyone except the very people that commit the violent crimes that plague so many.
I could not agree more, awareness is indeed needed.
If you think anything I say is wrong please try taking a walk at night in certain sections of Oakland or Richmond and you will perhaps become aware of some non PC truth.
Interesting Fox News story about white police officer shooting a black off-duty police officer who complied with every instruction and was on his own property:
http://fox2now.com/2017/06/22/off-duty-officer-wounded-by-fellow-cop-in-shootout/
“Got Awareness?!”
@Resident
Decades of DOJ stats showing an extremely disproportionate amount of violent crime committed by young black males.
Here is a recent case in the big easy:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/06/27/new-orleans-police-arrest-2-suspects-in-brutal-beating-tourists-in-french-quarter.html
All races commit crime but there can be no doubt about the most violent demographic as a percentage of the population.
Got stats?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_crime_in_the_United_States