
He advises them, and us, “You could be talking to a genius. Depression’s address to the audience, as he stocks the grocery shelves and muses that the store’s aisles “are fields of cotton,” displays an inner life that his customers will never comprehend.To select other passages and monologues here seems both random and unfair, but since Thoughts doesn’t so much contain a narrative plot as impressionist moments, here is just a sample of what you can expect: In the shoe line: Tristan Mack Wilds, Dyllón Burnside, Forrest McClendon, Da’Vinchi Julieta Cervantes Later, when this newcomer arrives for the first time at the barbershop, his quandary – to come out, or not to come out – is illustrated with such panache in a split second of pure comic inspiration that the audience at the reviewed performance broke into applause and laughter that all but stopped the scene.

Happiness, for example, begins his day with a jog, taking in the sights of his new neighborhood – he’s originally from the South, by way of Manhattan – and in doing so all but demands us to see these old streets through his eyes. In one vignette after another, presented as a day in the life of this Brooklyn neighborhood, the characters – beautifully portrayed by one of the best ensembles on a New York stage today – come to life so vividly and with such authenticity that we’re continually caught off guard by the unexpected.

Da’Vinchi, Dyllón Burnside Julieta Cervantes One calls himself Love, another Happiness, another Wisdom, and so on. Each character goes nameless until the play’s end – with one exception that won’t be spoiled here – though what’s revealed aren’t really names so much as character themes.

Set in a Brooklyn neighborhood just beginning to feel the shifts of gentrification, the play tells the stories of seven Black men who share both space and heritage. Both playwright and director are Broadway newcomers, and their Thoughts of a Colored Man is a marvel from start to finish. Broadnax III’s directorial flourishes that are so lovely they elicit gasps. Mixing spoken word, slam poetry, laugh-out-loud comedy, drama and razor-sharp dialogue, Scott’s words are met with Steve H. 'Spamalot' Broadway Cast To Include Michael Urie, James Monroe Iglehart, Ethan Slater, Christopher Fitzgerald, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer
