‘One in Two’ Theater Review: Donja R Love Brings Absurdity to the Black Queer Experience
Three actors explore the dynamics of the AIDS epidemic circa 2019
Thom Geier | December 10, 2019 @ 5:45 PM
Last Updated: December 10, 2019 @ 6:03 PM
Photo: Monique Carboni
In a playwright’s note in the Playbills handed out only after the performance of “One in Two,” Donja R. Love explains that his new play was inspired by a CDC study from 2016 that found that “one in two Black gay and bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime.”
“This is absurd,” Love writes on learning that his HIV-positive status is so prevalent in his community, “and this play needs to reflect that.”
And so “One in Two,” which opened Tuesday at Off Broadway’s Pershing Signature Theatre Center in a New Group production, offers a parade of absurdities and meta-narratives and Beckett-like, fourth-wall-breaking theatrical tricks.
The three actors, first seen loafing about the all-white bench-lined set (minimalist design by Arnulfo Maldonado), use audience applause to determine which role(s) they will take on — from the newly diagnosed Donté to Bartender/Nurse/Kinda-Ex-Boyfriend to a third character who plays Mom, a bar hookup and a swishy queen described as “Banjii C— at the Center” (among other roles).
We then alternate between short scenes from Donté’s life as a young black gay man in the city — and scenes in which the performers seem to step out of their characters to comment on the action. After all, Donté is a stand-in for Love who at one point tells the audience, “I’m writing this dreamlike play that’s set in the middle of nowhere and nothing. Or maybe a waiting room? Because that wait has so much weight to it. Ya know?”
Love has some striking and weighty things to say, particularly about how the experiences of black gay men tend to get buried beneath whiter depictions of the AIDS crisis like “The Normal Heart” and (as he calls it) “Angels in A-f–king-merica.”
Of course, those plays were written back when AIDS was both a new epidemic as well as a truly scary and lethal one. But as the nurse tells Donté early on, “With all the advancements we’ve made, this is no longer a death sentence.” And so an HIV diagnosis in 2019, though it still looms large within the LGBTQ community, doesn’t have quite so much weight to it as it all-too-recently did. Ya know?
The cast is quite strong, and Edward Mawere brought real pathos to Donté at my performance. But under Stevie Walker-Webb’s direction, the transitions between the various theatrical modes can be jarring. And the more humorous, absurdist sections are so broadly performed that they tend to undercut the cri-de-couer moments, particularly a creaky ending that doesn’t land with the heft Love clearly had in mind.
Broadway's 12 Top-Grossing Non-Musical Plays of All Time, From 'War Horse' to 'Harry Potter' (Photos)
Broadway isn't just for musicals. Here are the all-time top-grossing straight plays on the Great White Way, according to grosses compiled by the Broadway League up to Dec. 30, 2019. (These figures aren't adjusted for inflation, so recent hits at current sky-high ticket prices have a definite advantage.)
12. "700 Sundays" (2004-05; 2013-14)
Total gross: $32,029,177
Billy Crystal's autobiographical one-man show found favor in two separate runs on Broadway nearly a decade apart.
11. "Betrayal" (2019)
Total gross: $32,621,468
Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Cox and Zawe Ashton packed 'em in for the fourth Broadway production of Harold Pinter's time-bending drama.
10. "August: Osage County" (2007-09)
Total gross: $32,835,606
Tracy Letts' Pulitzer-winning drama became a huge hit on stage without any big stars -- and then a 2013 movie starring with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.
9. "Proof" (2000-03)
Total gross: $32,896,994
David Auburn's drama about a woman with a troubled legacy of both mental illness and genius-level math skills earned multiple Tony Awards, including for star Mary-Louise Parker.
8. "The Play That Goes Wrong" (2017-19)
Total gross: $34,341,708
This farce about an amateur theater company's mishap-prone production of a mystery play is another London import that found popularity on this side of the Atlantic.
7. "God of Carnage" (2009-10)
Total gross: $37,345,584
Yasmina Reza's barnstorming dramedy about two dueling couples earned the Tony for Best Drama -- as well as nominations for James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis.
6. "It's Only a Play" (2014-15)
Total gross: $37,500,966
Terrence McNally's backstage comedy was a huge hit thanks to the Broadway reteaming of Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, stars of the Tony-winning musical "The Producers" a decade before.
5. "Angels in America" (2018 revival)
Total gross: $40,937,028
The 2018 revival of Tony Kushner's two-part epic won three Tony Awards, including for co-stars Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane.
4. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" (2014-16)
Total gross: $68,321,435
Another London import, Simon Stephens' adaptation of Mark Haddon's YA novel follows an autistic boy on a quest for the killer of his neighbor's dog.
3. "War Horse" (2011-13)
Total gross: $74,975,253
Michael Morpurgo's YA novel about a British boy's search for his horse in World War I inspired both this epic play, complete with life-size puppets, and Steven Spielberg's 2011 film.
2. "To Kill a Mockingbird" (2018 - )
Total gross: $105,773,236* (as of Dec. 30, 2019)
Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of the beloved Harper Lee novel may have been snubbed by Tony nominators for Best Play, but it has been drawing crowds since opening in December 2018.
1. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two" (2018 - )
Total gross: $$163,017,626* (as of Dec. 30, 2019)
The stage sequel to J.K. Rowling's saga about the now-grown boy wizard has extra advantages -- since it's a two-night (and two-ticket) epic that plays in a musical-sized auditorium to diehard Potterheads.
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You don’t need an orchestra — or songs — to draw audiences
Broadway isn't just for musicals. Here are the all-time top-grossing straight plays on the Great White Way, according to grosses compiled by the Broadway League up to Dec. 30, 2019. (These figures aren't adjusted for inflation, so recent hits at current sky-high ticket prices have a definite advantage.)
