Welcome Home Sonny T – Location, Tickets, Reviews
Welcome Home Sonny T is the first of a series of five plays by William Electric Black addressing violence and guns in U.S. inner cities.
The story is set in a neighborhood plagued by antagonism between long-time black residents and Mexican newcomers. One of the black residents, Sonny T, returns home from serving in Afghanistan and heads straight to a welcome reception organized by his family. At the same time, the Mexican residents are staging a protest march because a community member was shot in connection with a racially charged conflict. The protest erupts in violence pitting black and Mexican youth against each other. It ends in tragedy. The play focuses on the aftermath of that tragedy and the efforts by Reverend Miller, a local reverend and civil rights activist, to end the cycle of violence destroying their community.
The roles in this play are emotionally deep and complex and the cast isn’t always up to the challenge. We were touched by supporting actors Levern Williams and Verna Hampton, who plays Sonny T’s mother. They deliver some dramatic and convincing moments but we wanted more from the remainder. Live saxophone music by Harry Mann greatly helps to support the play’s sad, poetic tone.
Welcome Home Sonny T takes a close look at the consequences of social injustice, job scarcity, peer pressure, and the plentiful availability of guns. Although it is a heartbreaking story, it ultimately leaves the audience with a message of hope that “we are not helpless against inner city gun violence, but there is work to be done.”
LOCATION
Theater for the New City
155 1st Avenue
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
1 hour and 40 minutes, no intermission
TICKETS
$15, $12 for seniors or students (click here for tickets)
DATES
Performances through December 22, 2013
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written and directed by William Electric Black
Saxophone by Harry Mann
Featuring Richard Pryor Jr., Verna Hampton, Brandon Melette, Kadeem Harris, Nestor Carillo, Brittany Benson, Levern Williams.