What I liked
Meshaun Labrone turns in a wonderful performance.
What I didn't like
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My overall impression
This play lives up to its title in that it is a powerful piece of theater. Meshaun Labrone embodies Carmichael and a number of other characters as he walks us through some of the darker streets of the civil rights movement. Carmichael started out a follower of Dr. King, and was a proponent of nonviolent resistance as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). However, as the years passed, his beliefs shifted towards the militant and in a speech in 1966 he coined the term, “Black Power” which became a rallying cry for those who wanted to split from the nonviolent resistance movement.
Through the introduction of various characters, and addressing the audience directly as Carmichael, Labrone vividly paints a picture of what life was like for the black residents of the South. Within this picture he is able to infuse the historical underpinnings and significance of not only Carmichael’s and the other activists work, but also how “Black Power” was not just a rallying cry, but a reclamation of the descriptor Black.
“Power!” is not an easy piece to take in simply because of the subject matter. However, Labrone’s charisma and energy, combined with the direction of Jennifer Knight, present this harsh and chilling story with a suffusion of humor and hope. There is still a long way to go, and there is plenty of room for all advocates on the Black Power bus.
I consider this play a “Must See” for both the powerful performance and the superb storytelling. As a warning, there are some graphic photos shown, however the most disturbing of these are flashed on and off so quickly, unless you’ve seen the photo before you’ll likely only get the impression that something graphic was just shown.
This show is discussed in Episode 1 of the See It or Skip It LA podcast.
