This kind of theatre is a little too hard for me…

There’s been discussion on Broadway around “should theatre be more than just entertainment?”

The most recent revival of 1776, which is coming to Chicago this week, caused a lot of debate about taking a classic and making it thought-provoking. Does theatre have to be more than entertainment? As a viewer, I would love nothing more than to escape and run away from the harsh realities that still face our country. And with ticket prices soaring it’s no wonder people would prefer a slice of good ‘ole fashioned song and dance to the thought-provoking new work that is still trying to find its audience. Unfortunately, escape is not a reality for a lot of us in America.

For a lot of us, we have to keep waking up and climbing uphill, sometimes lacking even the most basic resources. This is not new. We’ve known that certain communities get access and resources and others have been “historically” denied or overlooked.

This overlooking causes many problems for future generations. It’s how we end up with statistics that read “one in two African-American men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime,” CDC 2016. One in two. One in two will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime.

It’s this very report that inspired Donja R. Love to write something as a response for his community.

one in two is not a song and dance show that appeases an appetite for escapism. It can’t be that. Because while we sing and dance the numbers keep climbing and more and more of our brothers are waking up to this harsh reality.

This story is not a way for audiences to run away from the problems. It’s the opposite. It pulls us right into the fray and makes us have to witness the real people behind the statistics. It’s an act of courage to make something this raw and vulnerable and if anything we should consider ourselves lucky that Donja chose to give to us in this play.

But don’t worry it’s not all just heavy words and tears, that would be an injustice to the real people that have to face this reality. Even in the difficult topics tackled by this autobiographical play we still witness moments of incredible joy and laughter and even hope. But we don’t get any of that if we discount it upfront because we don’t want to watch “another HIV play.” It’s worth going on a journey like this because it’s worth opening our minds to different ways of being in this world. If the art in front of us is not teaching us to be more empathetic and reactive then what are we supporting? What exactly are we upholding?

Does theatre have to be more than just entertainment? No. It’s art. It gets to be whatever it needs to be for whoever it needs to be. Personally, though I’ve seen the song and dance done already. It’s nice. It’s fun. Then it drifts and fades. one in two will stay with me. one in two (lowercased intentionally) makes me move. Makes me act. Makes me want to see more.

Is that not what we want from art?

-Magdiel Carmona 02/04/2023