Topdog / Underdog
Topdog / Underdog
By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Be Boyd
Starring A. C. Sanford and David Tate
Mad Cow Theater, Orlando FL</strong>
The acting outstrips the script in this intense drama of two brothers trapped in grinding poverty. The setting is one of those third world apartments here in America – roaches intimidate the landlord, and the toilet is down the hall and no one flushes. Lincoln (Sanford) has the crappy job; he dresses in white face, a stovepipe hat and lets people pretend to shoot him in an arcade. His brother Booth (Tate) shoplifts for a living, but he’s the guy with the apartment and the part time girlfriend. The surface tension revolves round Booth’s desire to become a Three Card Monte dealer but Lincoln won’t teach him after he quit the hustle when a friend was shot. The deeper tension comes from their abandonment by their parents, sibling rivalry, and a small amount of money Booth retains from his mother. There’s no going back to Ma and Pa, but there lure of the cards draws Lincoln back to the street when a wax dummy replaces his arcade gig.
What keeps this show interesting is the studied casualness of the actors. Sanford seems more philosophical about his position, knowing that all of life and work is a hustle that can fall apart with no warning. At least he has cash coming in and skills to fall back on. As the classic sharp witted man of the streets, he can best his younger brother at just about anything, and sucker him into a bet if needs be. Tate is more outgoing and humorous, but lost in a world where parents never did their job. He lacks an angle and shoplifting isn’t a career with health insurance, but he’s the more boisterous, preening around when he wins and blustering anger when he loses. His girl friend may only be a friend who happens to be a girl, but he’s the one full of dreams. Together, Sanford and Tate may not physically appear related but they sure seem to have that brotherhood gene and the sort of unacknowledged love that can rip you apart. Both men need each other, but both resent the tie. They squabble for dominance, although it’s not clear what dominating the underdog in this play gets one.
It takes a while to dig though the jive talk and hustler lingo, but author Parks shows an almost operatic obsession with “motherfucker” as a dialog foundation. Her foreshadowing is heavy handed – what would expect with Booth and Lincoln on stage and a Chekhovian gun? You might hope for some sort of double reverse twist in the story, but it plays out in a linear, no surprise plot line. Vintage video of Blaxploitation films and soft-core porn set the mood, but these guys aren’t Superfly or Dolomite, their just two low grade hustlers in a big, nasty city.
For more information on Mad Cow, please visit http://www.madcowtheatre.com
