Magic Theatre’s ‘The Ni¿¿er Lovers’ t << Theater

loud bawdy simulated encounter, Willie begs Ellie to wear a topcoat that belongs to the plantation owner’s son. This is a fetish with wildly tangled subtexts, given that Ellie has routinely been raped by the boy’s father.

Things get even further perverted when an eavesdropping sharecropper played by Mitchell, wearing a big cardboard sign to indicate that he’s “WHITE” and doing a perfect take on Orson Welles in “The Long Hot Summer,” mistakenly believes that he’s actually caught Willie in flagrante with the boss man’s son. His reaction is not to raise hell with the patriarch, but to coerce Willie into “another” romp of sodomy.

by Jim Gladstone

Ladies and gentlemen! Hurry! Hurry!

This weekend is your last chance to catch the runaway slaves!

(Oh no, he didn’t.)

Oh yes I did, with a tip of the hat to Marc Anthony Thompson.

If you’re uncomfortable with satire that takes a showbizzy scalpel to America’s original and ongoing sins, by all means shuffle off and shy away from the final performances of “The Ni¿¿er Lovers,” Thompson’s excruciatingly humorous playwriting debut, which concludes its extended premiere run at the Magic Theatre this Sunday.

A vaudevillian vilification of racism, and of the often mawkish ways it’s addressed in entertainment, “The Ni¿¿er Lovers” is smart as a whip, and smarts like one, too.

Performed by an all-POC cast in a series of blackout sketches that nod to minstrelsy and burlesque, the show opens with a prologue that’s reminiscent of the Mel Brooks film “History of the World, Part I” but stings as much as it tickles.

After the theater darkens, the audience is briefly set adrift in a soundscape of turbulent seas and distant screams (The immersive sound design is by Christopher Sauceda). Then the lights come up on two men, minimally clad in traditional African garb (Rotimi Agbabiaka and Aejay Marquis Mitchell who, along with their castmates, play multiple roles).

Though we quickly realize that they’re in the hull of a slave ship, en route to America, the gents are oblivious to their fate. They chit-chat in plummy British accents about the imagined job opportunities that lie ahead, having signed on for this trip without reading the fine print. The standard office water cooler they stand by reminds us that this is business as usual.

Swooping in to disabuse the soonto-be-slaves of their happy fantasies is a time-traveling soothsayer (Donald E. Lacy, Jr.) whose double-edged catchphrase, “Black to the future!” proves anything but soothing.

Race riot

The scenes that follow largely center on Willie (Agbabiaka) and Ellie

(Aidaa Peerzada), enslaved sweethearts (based loosely on real historical figures) who dream of fleeing the Georgia plantation where they live and head for a better life in…Boston (Ba-dum-bummer!)

Until, then, their short-term form of escape is a very active sex life. During the pair’s first laugh-out-

Which leads Willie to kill him (M.O.: Hard stroke with a yoke). It also inspires an escape plan: Ellie, wearing that sexy topcoat as a disguise, will pose as Willie’s owner as they make their way north.

Further murders ensue, including a death by dildo and a Papal smear, all played in a broad slapstick style that keeps the audience laughing, even when aghast. Playwright Thompson’s M.O.is using a comic style to keep us from experiencing the easy, self-indulgent empathy delivered in so many dramatic representations of American slavery.

In that genre, tearjerking melodrama and horrific scenes of violence often encourage audience members to identify with individual victims. Particularly when the audience members are white, this sort of shell-shocked immediate emotion can elicit easy tears and a sense of personal honor— Well, I never! —while letting them slip off a larger historical hook.

Heady humor

By rendering characters as comic tropes, Thompson and his co-director, Magic Theatre’s Artistic Director Sean San José, invites audiences to engage intellectually more than emotionally, to see the complex systemic psychological distortions and manipulations that characterized American slavery and still mark its ongoing repercussions. The noxious interplay of power, race and sex is laid bare to serve as the butt of joke after joke.

Wednesday, June 7, 2023 Noon-1:30 p.m. Register

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From page 15 and culture, yet discovered he was the only openly trans modern dancer and no one was showcased or hired trans artists on stage. He sought to remedy that lack and created the artistic vision he envisioned by forming his own

<< Margaret Cho

From page 15

“Helpsters” is from the makers of “Sesame Street,” and being someone who was in her formative years when “Sesame Street” first started airing, would you say that it was a show that had an impact on you?

Absolutely! In the ’90s, I got to work with Kermit the Frog. I mean, talk about an NDA! If you work with a Muppet, like Kermit the Frog, in particular, you have to sign so many NDAs. I’m probably breaking an NDA right now. We had gone to this thing, and Kermit was my partner. We were doing shots with Gorbachev, Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev were in the United States and they were being hosted by Jane Fonda and Ted Turner, to whom she was married at the time. I had not drunk alcohol in a long time, and they forced us to do shots. Kermit was like (in Kermit’s voice), “Drink it! Drink it!” I couldn’t not do a shot if Kermit’s right there telling me to drink it. I’ve worked with a lot of Muppets, and I’ve had a lot of Muppet drama [laughs].

Your 2023 North American tour is titled “Live & Livid.” We certainly have a lot to be livid about, especially in the years following the 45th President, as well as the events of January 6, and the deadly rise of White Nationalism. Were these sources of inspiration, and what else are you livid about?

Yes! Also the attacks on drag queens, the attacks on queerness, the attacks on trans folks, the continual attacking of different parts of our community who are so important to us. Whether it’s our athletes, like Brittney Griner. Whether it’s trans kids. Drag queens, to me, who are front and center, the heart and joy of our community. It’s where we celebrate, with drag. That’s the most heartbreaking part of this is. They’re taking down the really important part of community; the cheerful ones, the ones that we need. Well, not Bianca Del Rio [laughs]. Bianca’s my favorite! They should be scared of drag queens! They will get read to filth. They should be afraid! Children are way safer at a drag show than they are in church!

As of now, when we’re talking, “Live & Livid” is scheduled to run through September with stops in 20 cities, including San Francisco. What does it mean to you when you get to perform for the hometown crowd?

Oh, I love it. It’s sort of still my hometown in a lot of ways. I have deep roots there. I spent so much time there, so it’s still home in a lot of ways. It’s meaningful and a cherished thing. But, also, I think I’m a citizen of everywhere. I’ve been everywhere, so it’s all my home.

It’s been six years since you launched your previous tour, “Fresh Off the Bloat.” What are you most looking forward to about returning to performing live again?

I think we had a really difficult time throughout the pandemic and through this resetting of this idea of what the world is. It’ll be great to greet people again in this new space. The gratitude that I have for live performance, and going to live shows and performances as it is, is a really special thing. I’m very excited.

Are there any upcoming projects about which you’re excited that you’d like to mention?

Nothing that I can mention, as yet. But I’m really looking forward to this year. I have things that I’m working on that I’m really thrilled about. Things that are starting to come up that I’ll be able to talk about soon. I’m working a lot, so I’m really happy about that.

This interview is taking place on Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious, and if so, what superstitions do you observe?

I love Friday the 13th! I love black cats. I love this whole notion of the cursed film or cursed TV show. There’s something about it, whether it’s “The Exorcist” or “Poltergeist.” Any of these ideas of things being ill-willed or bad omens. “The Omen!” I love horror, so to me it’s a very special day. It’s my happy day, my holiday.t

Margaret Cho performs June 2, 10pm at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater, 3301 Lyon St. $49-$59. www.margaretcho.com

Monday 8am (last seating 9:45pm)

Tuesday 8am (last seating 9:45pm)

Wednesday 8am (last seating 9:45pm)

Thursday 8am Open 24 Hours Friday Open 24 Hours

Saturday Open 24 Hours

Sunday 7am (last seating 9:45pm) company. This entrancing short serves as a kind of infomercial for his latest project, “The Lost Art of Dreaming,” which Dorsey imagines as a political act of resistance promoting cultural change, a show the company will tour internationally through 2024.

“Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn” introduces us to Malcolm Ke-

Open Daily!

New Adjusted Hours nyatta who as the first queer Person of Color elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (in one of its poorest districts), at age 31 entered the primary to become the Democratic Party’s 2020 candidate for U.S. Senator in perhaps the most important battleground state. He would have become the first LGBTQ POC in the U.S. Senate. In his campaign he stressed wanting to advocate for the working class.

This is a standard-format documentary but presents a full-bodied portrait of a politician vying to be a force for change. The most stirring scenes are the one with his husband Dr. Matt Miller as we follow their courtship (they met on Instagram), marriage ceremony, and media presence as spouse of the candidate. Kenyatta is clearly a rising Democratic Party star. Despite his third-place loss, with his drive and ambition, his is a name you will be hearing in the near future. This film is a festival highlight.

“Satan Wants You,” the closing night doc, seeks to dissect the 1980s/1990s Satanic Panic as being instigated by the bestselling memoir, “Michelle Remembers.” Co-written by Michelle Smith and psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence Pazder, it details Smith’s childhood ritual abuse (i.e. animal/fetal sacrifice, mutilation, cannibalism) at the hands of devil worshippers, given to them by her mother. Supposedly all these recovered grisly memories were unearthed during intensive hypnotic sessions, which were then written up by Pazder and later endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church.

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Most disconcerting is the film’s suggestion we haven’t learned the lessons of this moral panic and conspiracy-mongering, because the same rumors and implausible stories relating to Pizzagate and QAnon are occurring today with similar horrendous results. While there’s no LGBTQ-related material in the film, it’s directed by Steve Adams and Sean Horlor, a gay Canadian filmmaking team. Also, the theme of scapegoating and blaming groups for ethical/ social decline is familiar territory for queer folk. Chilling, gripping yet entertaining, this doc should serve as a contemporary warning.

Shorts of note

The short “Right to Joy” follows trans man Izzy Sederbaum as he overcomes anxiety and prejudice, after surviving a nearly fatal cougar attack while cycling in Washington state, despite still experiencing facial trauma. An accompanying friend on the ride was killed. Worse than the extreme physical pain was the emotional anguish engendered by the horrible comments on the internet following articles on the assault. These 14 minutes might give you the inspiration and bravery to face whatever issue might be weighing you down.

“Krush the Wrestler” explores the fetishization of submission wrestling which is both primal and cathartic. A lifelong wrestler, Krush turned his talents into an on-demand video service, including scenes of nude wrestling. This is not porn and there’s no sexual contact, but he does cater to the customer’s fantasies. Krush sees himself as a work of art with his intense wrestling a homoerotic sight to behold.

“Chokehole: Drag Wrestlers Do Deutschland” explores a phenomenon that began in New Orleans in which drag queens, in a choreographed contest, wrestle each other with no holds barred. It uses a queer lens on a traditionally macho sport, bringing out the inherently flamboyant and camp elements of professional wrestling. Technically illegal in New Orleans, they are invited to bring their show to Germany where they are a hit.

“Before Us,” is a doc by lesbian filmmaker Hedia Maron, who discovers two older sisters who were born on a California commune in the 1960s and later placed for adoption.

“Cisco Kid” details young, solitary maverick nonbinary Eileen, who is the sole resident of a desert ghost town, after she has walked away from mainstream society, living in a place left behind by a changing world.

“Sweetheart Deal” is a cinemaverité style production about four sex workers caught in the spiral of addiction, who turn to a self-proclaimed healer offering friendship and a path to salvation from the streets inside his roadside RV.

“Tony & Denise: Cinematic Memoir of Denise D’Anne” tells the life of pioneering San Francisco transgender labor activist Denise D’Anne based on her autobiography. She launched one of the first organized recycling programs with the SF Department of Human Services.

“Undetectable Wrestler” relates the bio of Joshua Simmons, who retired from professional wrestling after testing HIV+. He maintained his undetectable status for seven years before deciding to enter the ring professionally again.t

22nd San Francisco Documentary Festival, Roxie Theater, 3125 16th St. and online, June 1-11. $20, $90 (online pass) $225 (full pass) www.sfdocfest2023.eventive.org www.roxie.com