As a whole the students brought an adolescent exuberance and authenticity to their performances that was engaging. The perfect counter balance was found in the performances of some of the adult actors. Most notably Jefferson A. Russell in the role of Dr. Joshua Larabee, the somewhat enigmatic former National Spelling Bee "runner-up" with a satchel of secrets and soul in need of a little redemption. Also very enjoyable were the duo of Dwayne Alistair Thomas as Drunk Willie (he also played Principal Welch) and Tracy "Symphony" Hall as Batty Ruth the neighborhood gossip and Willie's estranged wife. One other shout out must go to Quincy Vics who primarily played the strung out neighborhood drug dealer, JT, but also double briefly as the local city Spelling Bee Judge and brought the house down with his performance.
Listening to all of this you might assume I had a great time. And I'm not gonna say that I didn't enjoy or appreciate the show--I did. However, as fate would have it, this performance was also sponsored by the Baltimore Youth Innovation Coalition. An organization just over a year old that works as an umbrella to support over 30 youth engagement clubs all across the greater Baltimore municipality. Everything from "Black Girls Cook" (combining culinary practices with healthy nutrition) to "Let's Go" elementary after school enrichment programs focused on STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathmatics) to CITCA an organization that works with at-risk youth to meet social emotional needs and promote welfare through collective action. Let's face it, it's all great stuff, and yet, during a little pep rally before the show started it was clear that unaffiliated adults in the audience were in the minority. Furthermore, through a show of hands nearly everyone participating in this event by way of the Coalition were first time theater goers. Sigh.
Baltimore Center Stage's Artistic Director, Stevie Walker-Webb, was there to welcome and celebrate the Coalition's participation. He invited all the audience to join in with the fun of the place and be expressive, but also to be reflective during the times when the story becomes serious. He lost them at "expressive"...
For me, it wasn't horrible at first, but it was a dual event. One, The Play, with the actors--the younger members clearly ramping it up for the delight of the young audience; and Two, The Spectacle--that give and take between the story and an audience full of folk (wee and old) without any obligation to conventional boundaries. This was most obvious after intermission, when the first hour and 15 minutes had pretty much exhausted the attention spans of most of the children and many of the sponsors alike.
As a result, during the most serious moments (a drive by shooting that forced Akeelah's mother to throw her to the floor and shield her with her own body) many members of the audience roared with laughter. On a more specific to me level, the adult sponsor/chaperone for the group sitting directly behind me brought her un-potty-trained daughter who made "ca ca" 15 minutes into the second half and then proceeded to sing little nursery songs apropos of nothing whatsoever happening on the stage for a good 15 minutes. To be fair it wasn't everybody. There were 8 young children sitting in the row directly in front of me who were probably 7 or 8 years old. To a child they were engaged, on the edge of their seats nearly the entire time.
Let me make this perfectly clear. I LOVE THE IDEA OF BRINGING ALL OF THESE CHILDREN AND YOUTH INTO THE THEATER. But I think it was unfair of Baltimore Center Stage to do this and not advertise it to the general public. Especially when they list "Community Night," "Greek Night," "Family Reunion Night," ASL dedicated performance, AD/TT dedicated performance, and something called the "Chocolate Curlz Cabaret @ Blk Ass Flea Market" as a related event. And, yes, I did write them with my thoughts on this. It's not only not right, it's not a good economic strategy for someone who is paying full price to not know what that admission includes prior to making the purchase. As I wrote in my comment. Knowing this doesn't mean that I would not come to see the show, it just means I would have chosen another date.