Playwright/Director Paul Calderon has crafted a compelling and masterful drama in "Master of the Crossroads." The play draws in the audience at a primal level as we see three individuals struggling with the affects of PTSD upon each of them, and upon an unseen innocent victim.
The action is set in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as Yolanda (Sarah Kate Jackson) enters in a frenetic state, frantically downing pills and alcohol to try to find a way to calm herself so she can convince her ex-brother-in-law, Jim-Bo (Obi Abili) to intervene in an unfolding tragedy. Her ex-husband, Cornbread (Nixon Cesar), is off of his medications and has taken a hostage, whom he plans to crucify. Yolanda has discovered this heinous situation when she dropped by to check on Cornbread. Jim-Bo is reluctant to intervene for a whole host of reasons. He and his fraternal twin are estranged, each choosing to wrestle with their demons in isolation. Jim-Bo clearly has adopted a dual coping mechanism to handle his own PTSD and moral guilt. He has emotionally barricaded himself behind a facade of church and religiosity. He also is clearly someone who hangs onto sanity using Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD) rituals. The playwright shows this OCD behavior clearly when Jim-Bo obsesses over the color of the shirt and tie he will wear that day. It is also clear that Jim-Bo fears what may happen to shatter his fragile shell of normalcy if he engages with Cornbread.
It becomes clear as the narrative develops that Yolanda and Jim-Bo have a history that transcends their former relationship of brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Yolanda finally persuades Jim-Bo that he has an obligation to intervene, and the scene shifts from Jim-Bo's place to Cornbread's hovel. Cornbread enters naked, emblematic of the fact that by the end of the play each of these three characters will have been stripped naked emotionally and psychologically. As Jim-Bo tries to reason with Cornbread, the well-dressed brother - a Dr. Jekyll figure - devolves into a manic Mr. Hyde. At some point in the drama, each of the three characters erupts in a primal scream that we know comes from the depth of their troubled souls.
Mr. Calderon explores themes of hyper-religiosity, betrayal, guilt, denial, rituals, mental health, the trauma of war, and the insidious effects of poverty and racism to weave together a troubling tapestry of three lives hanging on by a thread. The acting by this trio is mesmerizing and believable. They are directed by Mr. Calderon in a way that gives them free rein to vent their rage, frustration and fear.
Be warned that the play features nudity, racially sensitive language, and violence, none of which is gratuitous, but is firmly rooted in the text and subject matter of the play.
The play runs through February 9th at the Bridge Theater at Shetler Studios, 244 W. 54th St.
Enjoy!
Al
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