New York theater critics have given mixed reviews to the new Off-Broadway musical Black No More, inspired by George S. Schuyler’s 1931 Afrofuturist novel. The creative team includes John Ridley (book), Tariq Trotter (music, lyrics), Anthony Tidd and James Poyser (music), Daryl Waters (music, music supervision, orchestrations, arrangements), Scott Elliott (direction), Bill T. Jones (choreo), Zane Mark (music direction, arrangements), Derek McLane (sets), Qween Jean (costumes), Jeff Croiter (lights), Nevin Steinberg (sound), and Nikiya Mathis (hair & wigs). The New Group limited engagement runs at Signature Theater’s Pershing Center through February 27.
The cast includes Tariq Trotter (Dr. Crookman), Brandon Victor Dixon (Max Disher), Lillias White (Mme. Sisseretta), Jennifer Damiano (Helen Givens), Tamika Lawrence (Buni), Theo Stockman (Ashby Givens), Tracy Shayne (Mrs. Givens), Ephraim Sykes (Agamemnon), and Howard McGillin (Rev. Givens), with ensemble members Leanne Antonio, Rhaamell Burke-Missouri, Elijah A. Carter, Ryan Fitzgerald, Gaelen Gilliland, Polanco Jones Jr., Zachary Daniel Jones, Sarah Meahl, Mary Page Nance, Oneika Phillips, Nicholas Ranauro, Malaiyka Reid, Mars Rucker, Angela M. Sauers, Akron Watson, Nyla Watson, and Edward Watts.
Tariq Trotter and company (photo by Monique Carboni)
New York Stage Review (David Finkle): Something highly listenable and watchable has arrived not a moment too soon. … Before going further, this welcoming reviewer should report that Black No More is somewhat short of perfect, but during the first half-hour or so gives the impression it will be. As the storytelling dips and revives during the rest of the two acts, the result is still far from a letdown. … The Black No More strengths are so numerous it’s difficult deciding where to start. All right, with the score. … Choreographer Jones is another of the production heroes. … The cast is also top-drawer, in large part due to those with shake-the-walls-raise-the-roof voices.
New York Times (Jesse Green): The New Group’s musical version makes the smart decision to borrow only the novel’s rudiments. It dumps most of the silly names, thin caricatures and weirdly jovial tone in favor of a more serious look at internalized racism and the conundrums of assimilation. The result is a gorgeous mess. … The book makes only halfway repairs to the original, while introducing new problems that music and dance can’t solve. But oh, what music and dance! … As Black No More continues its development process, it will surely need to find more breathing space like that between the whimsy of the novel and its current chaotic gloom. … I hope the authors can do so without losing what’s already beautiful about this promising work.
Talkin’ Broadway (James Wilson): The New Group’s exhilarating new musical adaptation retains the novel’s relevance, and it is the rare show that appeals to the intellect, the heart, and the soul. … If the musical downplays the trenchant political commentary while emphasizing the melodramatic elements, it makes up for it in dazzling theatricality. … Unfortunately, while Trotter applies his adroit musicality to good effect, he is not nearly sinister enough. Indeed, rather than offering a threatening presence, he tends to get lost in the swirl of the staging. Trotter, however, and the rest of the creative team have crafted an ambitious and daring new musical.
Theater Mania (Pete Hempstead): [Ridley] follows Schuyler’s lead and doesn’t spare us the vicious language of bigotry and hate in his book for the new musical Black No More. … Nor does Tariq Trotter. … Though the musical takes place in the 1930s, it often sounds like today, and that’s no accident. … Despite the brilliant cast and the show’s thematic daring, there is a palpable falloff in action during the second act as Ridley’s book loses its satirical edge and humor, and slides into the melodramatic and preachy. … It’s enough if Black No More gets us thinking about ourselves and talking about what we might need to do to dismantle hate; it doesn’t have to offer the solution.