What I liked
I like how unafraid the show was. Byron was fearless. His jokes aside, Byron was able to dig deep dramatically and conjure up the most intense and traumatic parts of his life. He brought us to our knees. And we wept with him. The recognizable scenes of nuanced microagressions and police brutality were heartbreaking and familiar. As a Black man, and a fellow performer, the show’s pain points felt all-too-familiar. That’s real life.
The stand-up worked well. I’ve never seen stand-up intermixed with theatre like that, and it was so effective and well negotiated. The bit about Popeyes VS Chik-Fil-A took me out. So damn funny. And that’s just the start. There’s so many stand-out moments of comedy. No Neck Josh. The dance battle. All hilarious .
What I didn't like
The only thing I was tweak is the transition, so I get a better sense of timeline. His acting was fire. And so were his characters. But I wouldn’t mind a bit more hands-on guidance through what stages of Byron’s life we are landing on and how many years have passed each time. Also, tying together all the stuff from his youth in the last “Take Your Time” monologue would be nice.
My overall impression
The show was phenomenal! The storytelling was so personal, engaging and laugh-out-loud. It was so funny and. Full-bodied. The characters were unique and had such specific point of views. The stand-up comedy was so funny too. As an audience, we were rolling laughing.
I was truly amazed at the precision of his comedy. Timing, pacing and his clown work were all top tier. And Sidney’s direction was expert. Her depiction of the peaks and valleys of each moment in his life was pitch-perfect. Their collaboration was elite. Dream team.
