Susan Granger’s review of “I Just Want to Tell Somebody” (Theater for the New City/Off-Broadway)
Just when many Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters are temporarily closing because of the Covid-19/Omicron pandemic, the Theater for the New City has extended the premiere of this remarkable solo show through January 30.
Written and performed by Ronald “Smokey” Stevens, it’s an autobiographical chronicle of how Smokey’s rise as a Black performer on stage and screen was torpedoed by his cocaine addiction, which inevitably led to his incarceration, and then how he was able not only to recover but also to revive his career.
Adapted from his confessional memoir “I Just Want to Tell Somebody: The Autobiography of Ronald Smokey Stevens,” it’s a one-man, two-character play, starring suave Smokey as himself and his caustic, demonic nemesis called “D Man.”
Because his name might not be immediately familiar, director Stephen Byrd wisely inserts various archival video clips of his ensemble appearances, including Smokey tap dancing with Charles “Honi” Coles in “Bubbling Brown Sugar” and as one of the Crows dancing with Michael Jackson in “The Wiz.”
Inevitably, Smokey’s career trajectory encompasses many of the highlights of Black musical theater in film and on television – which he acknowledges, citing ground-breaking Black producer/directors like Woodie King Jr., organizer of the New Federal Theater, and Robert Hooks, co-founder of the Negro Ensemble Company and creator of the D.C. Black Repertory Company.
Smokey is now a documentary filmmaker and Artistic Director of Capital City Readers Theater in Washington, D.C. and recipient of the @NAACP 11th annual Theater Award.
Kudos to Larry Law’s multimedia and Alexander Bartenieff’s lighting design.
“I Just Wanted to Tell Somebody” held its first preview on January 6 with Opening Night on January 7. Audience members must show proof of vaccination to attend, and masks are required for all audience members.
This show’s original closing date was January 23 but it has been extended through January 30 at the Theater for the New City, located at 155 First Ave. at East 10th Street. For tickets, call 212-254-1109.