“Do you love me?”
That was a question that Jahaan (Donte Ashen Green) asked himself throughout this wonderfully written full of tear-jerking emotion which is loosely based on the life of playwright JuCoby Johnson.
Jahaan no longer attends the black school in his neighborhood. He applied to an Arts high school because he’s an aspiring writer and was tired of the ridicule he received from his classmates.
He left behind his best friends Lady (Nona Parker Johnson), Terry (Durran Moreau) and Rashad (Michael Howard-Dossett) who bond over their discussions of life with some good weed.
Jahaan is also grappling with his overbearing mother Angela (Karla Mosley) and his absentee father Kenny (Sedale Threatt Jr.) due to his constant deployment as a member of the military. He’s become his mom’s best friend and the defacto “man” of the house which is tested upon Kenny’s return.
Jahaan longs for the love of his father. As he dreams of the scariness of kissing Lady, while at a party at her home over the holidays, he happens to catch a kiss between Terry and Rashad. Terry is the openly different friend while Rashad is too manly to believe he could love a man.
“Do you love me?” Terry asks Rashad. He doesn’t get an answer.
Throughout the play, Jahaan continues to question the love of his father and then finds himself innocently kissing Terry. No words were spoken after.
This play touches on what so many of our young men are experiencing today which is struggling with not only their identity but at times, their sexuality. Many are led to believe that masculine men can’t “be that way” and just as Jahaan found that Rashad liked Terry in a different way, you can’t help but recall the way Rashad teased Terry for being “soft” only to realize holding a secret that Jahaan wasn’t privy to know.
“I wanted to capture the heart of a young artist trying to figure out where he fits in,” Johnson explains. “These characters each have a deep love for one another that they’re trying and failing to communicate. It’s often difficult and scary to share our love, even with the people we’re closest to.”
I had the opportunity to ask JuCoby if it was hard writing this play and how his family received it, he smiled as if he had a sigh of relief.
“They honestly didn’t know what I was writing but were happy with the final product when they saw it,” said Johnson.
Most families, especially black families, don’t want their dirty laundry in the streets. It’s hard holding your composure to not let anyone know the pain you are feeling that your husband is gone for months on end without many phone calls. Your husband not knowing how to express his love and feelings for you outside of providing financially. A father’s inability to connect with his son because he doesn’t know them. Your child coming to terms with their sexuality and more importantly, your family accepting it.
Throughout the play, Terry is asked how his mother is doing. “She aiight” he would respond.
How It’s Gon’ Be is directed by Ahmed Best (Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies) and he has done an excellent job of casting and bringing out the ooh’s and aah’s of the audience at the perfect timing.
“Directing is bringing out the emotion of the playwright and this cast has done a wonderful job of bringing this play to life,” said Best.
“This play is about that summer, says Best. “That summer that forced you to grow. It’s about dancing in plain sight when nobody’s looking, but then having to come out as your authentic self regardless of judgment. It takes courage in this society to become an artist. To be Black and become an artist is to take a deep dive.”
‘How It’s Gon’ Be’ runs until Oct. 23 and tickets cost $34. More details can be found on Echo Theater Company’s website.
