The beauty of jazz is the genre’s unique interplay of technical skill and emotional resonance. Both elements are important to the experience; the titans of the genre, such as iconic saxophonist John Coltrane, were able to skillfully belt out moving pieces most musicians couldn’t match. When performers bring enough emotion to what they play — making the audience feel the music as much as they hear it — even wrong notes and slip-ups are easily forgiven.
In similar fashion, though Celebration Arts’ newest production, “Before it Hits Home,” may have a hiccup or two — a possible dropped line or hesitation here and there, and a set that occasionally might feel incongruous with a scene — the performers bring such life and energy to the play’s heavy subject matter that the show is one Sacramento audiences ought to make time to see before it closes Sunday, June 22.
It doesn’t take long to recognize that jazz saxophonist Wendal (Conrad Crump) is a man pulled in different directions by his competing passions and identities. Though his mother Reba (Mardres Story) is his perpetual supporter and fan, Wendal’s relationship with his family is strained by his decision to pursue music as a career; Wendal’s son, Dwayne (Camden Arnold) rarely sees his father and is instead raised by his grandparents, while Wendal’s father Bailey (Raheem Muhammad-Terrell) still laments that his firstborn son never made anything of himself. His love life is no less complicated, as Wendal is preparing to marry his girlfriend Simone (Aladria Brown) while also hiding his bisexuality from her and seeing Douglass (Stephen Callum Byrum) in secret.
Early into the two hour and 20-minute run time of “Before it Hits Home,” Wendal discovers he has contracted AIDS and is forced to navigate multiple forms of love, life and family, deciding to return to his childhood home to fight the devastating disease.
Director Melinda Wilson Ramey, explains in her director’s note that the play has been one she had kept on the shelf for some time (it was first produced in Washington, D.C. in 1991) because she felt Celebration Arts’ audience hadn’t been “ready” for it before now. That concern is understandable; “Before it Hits Home” may have moments of levity and even laugh-out-loud humor (often thanks to the larger-than-life Maybelle, played by Diana Cossey), but at its core, it is a heartbreaking story that explores intersectional identity, mortality, love, masculinity and family.
Ramey’s decision to finally direct the show now is a stroke of perfect timing; not only is the audience ready for it, so is the cast. Every actor brings an excellent read to their characters, with standout performances by Crump, Muhammad-Terrell and Cossey. Between Bailey’s back-and-forths with Maybelle, tender moments between Reba and her sons, and the playful relationship between Wendal and his younger brother Junior (George Hillman), the scenes that unfold at Wendal’s home feel like stolen glances into a family’s life; the cast interacting so seamlessly it’s easy to imagine they have shared countless meals and conversations at the same dining room table.
Another notable scene is when a dazed Wendal floats between separate conversations with Simone and Douglass simultaneously — a fantastic presentation of the disoriented, shell-shocked numbness that can follow in the wake of disastrous news.
Though there may be small quibbles — the set looks great as a living room but looks out of place as a jazz club or a hospital waiting room, and the saxophone recordings sound a little too clean and “canned” — they in no way detract from what makes Celebration Arts’ newest show good. They’re just a couple of off notes in a show that can — and likely will — move you to tears.
“Before it Hits Home” runs until Sunday, June 22 at Celebration Arts. Tickets and more information are available here.
It doesn’t take long to recognize that jazz saxophonist Wendal (Conrad Crump) is a man pulled in different directions by his competing passions and identities. Though his mother Reba (Mardres Story) is his perpetual supporter and fan, Wendal’s relationship with his family is strained by his decision to pursue music as a career; Wendal’s son, Dwayne (Camden Arnold) rarely sees his father and is instead raised by his grandparents, while Wendal’s father Bailey (Raheem Muhammad-Terrell) still laments that his firstborn son never made anything of himself. His love life is no less complicated, as Wendal is preparing to marry his girlfriend Simone (Aladria Brown) while also hiding his bisexuality from her and seeing Douglass (Stephen Callum Byrum) in secret.
Early into the two hour and 20-minute run time of “Before it Hits Home,” Wendal discovers he has contracted AIDS and is forced to navigate multiple forms of love, life and family, deciding to return to his childhood home to fight the devastating disease.
Director Melinda Wilson Ramey, explains in her director’s note that the play has been one she had kept on the shelf for some time (it was first produced in Washington, D.C. in 1991) because she felt Celebration Arts’ audience hadn’t been “ready” for it before now. That concern is understandable; “Before it Hits Home” may have moments of levity and even laugh-out-loud humor (often thanks to the larger-than-life Maybelle, played by Diana Cossey), but at its core, it is a heartbreaking story that explores intersectional identity, mortality, love, masculinity and family.
Ramey’s decision to finally direct the show now is a stroke of perfect timing; not only is the audience ready for it, so is the cast. Every actor brings an excellent read to their characters, with standout performances by Crump, Muhammad-Terrell and Cossey. Between Bailey’s back-and-forths with Maybelle, tender moments between Reba and her sons, and the playful relationship between Wendal and his younger brother Junior (George Hillman), the scenes that unfold at Wendal’s home feel like stolen glances into a family’s life; the cast interacting so seamlessly it’s easy to imagine they have shared countless meals and conversations at the same dining room table.
Another notable scene is when a dazed Wendal floats between separate conversations with Simone and Douglass simultaneously — a fantastic presentation of the disoriented, shell-shocked numbness that can follow in the wake of disastrous news.
Though there may be small quibbles — the set looks great as a living room but looks out of place as a jazz club or a hospital waiting room, and the saxophone recordings sound a little too clean and “canned” — they in no way detract from what makes Celebration Arts’ newest show good. They’re just a couple of off notes in a show that can — and likely will — move you to tears.
“Before it Hits Home” runs until Sunday, June 22 at Celebration Arts. Tickets and more information are available here.
This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics and protocols, the city had no editorial influence over this story and no city official reviewed this story before it was published. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Hmong Daily News, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.